For One Second
by LaNaniuska
Summary: She never thought it could happen, but for just one second, Rosita wondered if there could be something more between her and Daryl. Now she had to decide if she wanted to keep wondering or risk it and find out.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone in this little fic.

Notes: Not much to say, this is just something that wouldn't leave my mind after season 8 and just decided to try it. It has been a while since I wrote anything so I'm rusty and this was typed from my phone so sorry for the mistakes. Other than that, enjoy. P.S. Rated M for a reason, smut!

For Just a Second

She didn't think much about it when she asked. No, and not even after the odd request spilled out of her mouth and her body automatically turned around so he could do it, did it cross her mind that what she was asking could turn out to be so awkward… she just asked without thinking about it because the truth was that she wanted to get out of her soiled shirt as soon as possible and pulling it over her head was not even an option she considered.

"I'm going to kill him." She blurted out, her lips pursing and her eyes set on an undefined spot ahead of her.

No response came her way, but she could feel as he approached from behind and pulled at the edge of her shirt, his fingers momentarily brushing against the newly exposed skin of her lower back. The sensation didn't last long tough, and as her mind drifted in self reproach for letting Eugene slip out of their reach, he began to cut.

"I can't believe I let him go away." She couldn't believe either that he puked on her, or that after searching all over the place, neither Daryl or her could find him. He just disappeared out of thin air and it pissed her off.

"Son of a bitch will get what's coming for him."

Daryl's voice, almost low as a whisper made her snap out of her thoughts and she realized that the back of her shirt was completely ripped, just as she requested.

Glad that after what felt like hours she could at last get out of a shirt that was covered with dried vomit, Rosita grimaced and with a grunt of disgust she almost yanked it off her body and threw it away. "Can't wait to see that happen." Saying that she turned around to face him, her hand already grabbing the left strap of her bra to slide it off her shoulder.

Her eyes found his as she turned, and that was exactly the moment when she felt it, not only the awkwardness of the moment but realization as well. Was she actually planning on getting topless in that room, with Daryl present… Daryl, of all people?

Almost as if she was frozen on the spot and with her hand still grabbing the black strap, the younger woman just looked at him as he looked at her and never in the time they had spent together on expeditions and missions, did his silence felt so deafening or the blue of his eyes so penetrating.

Did his eyes always felt so intense? Was he always so serious?

But before she could even blink or come up with an answer to those questions. He mumbled something under his breath, lowered his eyes along her body and just like that, he was gone.

Swallowing on dry and trying to shake what just happened out of her mind, Rosita took off the rest of her clothes and just as she was planning since she found a place to clean up and the toilerettes to do so, she started to wash herself. She knew she had to be quick, Daryl himself told her when she made her intentions clear after they gave up looking for Eugene, but as she told him between clenched teeth, the stench of vomit and the feeling of it trespassing her shirt to cling on her skin was making herself feel nauseous. In the heat of the moment she tried to put it on the back of her mind, but once it was clear they were not going to find their former friend, it started to bother her.

True, she has been covered in blood and guts before and in some bad days she has endure it for far longer, but that day, in that moment, she needed it. Not only did she need to clean up not to gag, but she also needed the cold water to cool off her temper.

"I'm going to get you, Eugene. Asshole."

Scrubbing herself clean almost furiously, Rosita's mind went back to Daryl. Maybe she was seeing things where there were none, but for a few seconds she felt something pass between their eyes. True, with his hair covering his face as always it was hard to read his expression and well, with his usual silent demeanor it was even harder to guess what he was thinking, but even those inconveniences were there, she still felt it.

Hell, she even saw it and she could swear that even if it was for a second, he was checking her out. Or was he?

Daryl… of all the people she has come to know after the world went up to shit, he was the one she could never figure out. Most of the time he was an asshole that kept to himself; he was a lone wolf, but at the same time he cared for his pack and he would give his life to protect them. So yes, he was hard to read and even harder to like, but on rare occasions one could get small glimpses of his vulnerability and it made her curious, he always had. He cared for the ones in his group and he would do anything to protect them, but if something came out wrong he would silently blame himself and beat himself for it.

And now, she was part of his group and even when she had never figure him out, she has found herself stuck with him. Be it hunting, plotting or on missions, the two of them had formed some kind of a team, spending lots and lots of time together. Unfortunely, not even a single moment of their time together indicated that her curiosity was reciprocated so she never said or did anything to make things be more than what it was.

He was probably gay or something, that was the conclusion she made for herself when she found out that he wasn't with Carol. Because yes, at the begging of it all she was sure that the two of them were together, and when she found out that they were nothing more than good friends, she had no choice but to think that the biker was into guys.

It was really a shame, but after all, as far as she knew, he has either remained alone for all those years or he was secretly with some guy. Maybe even Jesus or he could even be asexual, what would she know.

But that day, even if it was for a second, she felt something. And it wasn't her wishful thinking...

Taking in a deep breath and pulling her hair out of the pony tail she had, she finished washing and rinsing and reached for the shirt she found in the abandoned house they found along their way. It was a bit oversized for her, but it was the only thing it that place that she could wear and considering the fact that there was no way she was going to put her dirty shirt and bra once again, she would have to do with it.

Once the shirt was on, she looked around for the rest of her clothes, but before putting them on, she ran a hand through her hair and driven by a wild impulse, she opened the door and walked out of the bathroom.

Daryl was sitting in the only sofa that remained in the old place, and as soon as he felt her approach he looked up to her.

"You done?" His face was partially hidden behind his hair and since the day was slowly fading away, it was getting dark, but even in the chiaoscuro of the room she could not only see the intensity of his eyes, she could even feel them, running from her own eyes to her chest, then down her naked thighs and then back to her face.

Could he tell from looking at her that she was wearing nothing but the shirt? The way his eyes darkened a little she would guess that yes. After all she hadn't even dried off and she could feel the fabric sticking to her chest.

Feeling her heart beating hard against her ribcage, she walked in bare foot to him, noticing that not even once did he stopped returning the stare, that was when she came to realize that she probably should turn around and get dressed so they could leave. After all they needed to deliver an important message.

But she didn't do such a thing, it was almost as if she wasn't in charge of the movements of her body and next thing she knew, she was straddling him.

"What the hell are you doing." He asked, almost as if he wanted to push her off of him; but there was no harshness in his tone and none in his eyes. Actually, his tone made her feel even more curious, after all it was as if his voice was stuck down his throat and the sound that came out only encourage her. His hand even came to rest on her waist and before her senses could come back, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

She did no more than that and neither did he, and for what felt like an eternity she waited for him to either push her away or kiss her like she wanted him to. He did none of those and she started to wonder what the fuck was she doing.

This was Daryl and without even giving it a thought she basically threw herself at him without even saying a thing.

Pulling away she opened her eyes and tried to dig into his. With their eyes locked, his breath brushing against her face and the feeling of his hand on her, even through the shirt, burning, she closed the brown orbs once again and tried to chuckle the awkwardness away, but no sound came.

"Look…" She began to say but he cut her off, pressing his mouth back to hers as his other hand pressed to the small of her back.

He kissed her roughly, his tongue pushing pass her lips and seeking hers almost desperately.

Wrapping and arm around his neck to make the kiss go even deeper, Rosita let herself be carried away into the moment. Little as it was, what has happening felt kind of surreal… after all she was almost naked and letting Daryl kiss her senseless…

Yes, Daryl!

Not even half an hour before she was almost sure that he was gay and now… well, now she was sure that he wasn't. She could even feel against her naked crotch how a bulge that definitely wasn't there when she walked to him was pushing back against her.

The feeling made a shiver run down her spine and she trembled, her hips grinding against him, rotating a little so she could feel him better.

And as she did that, his hands sneaked underneath her shirt and were now settled on her naked ass, pulling her even closer if it was possible.

Moaning into the kiss and feeling as is she needed more, her free hand slid between their bodies and reached for his belt to take it off. He got the hint and without breaking the kiss, he helped her.

With their tongues dwelling for dominance and the repercussions of what they were doing eluding her, she savored the moment, exploring his mouth and getting drunk on the taste of him.

If felt amazing, it made her stomach tighten as a liquid warm sensation soaked her privates.

It was crazy, she felt crazy.

Sure, she had to admit that in more than what occasion her mind had wondered about him. She has been curious to know if the Daryl behind closed doors was as intense and impulsive as he was in everything else and in her mind she decided that yes, he must be. But because she truly believed she would never know for sure, the curiosity faded away and hid in the back of her mind.

And now she was going to find out.

Retreating her hand so he could work himself with the inconvenience of his belt, she brushed his hair away from his face and kept kissing him. There was no need to talk, there was no need to stop kissing him so she kept on, faintly realizing that the only sound she could detect in the room was her heart beating so hard she could hear it against her ears, the distinct sound of the metal of his belt clinging and then his zipper coming undone.

He made her lift a little and she did, and for the first time he stopped kissing her so he could focus on what he was doing and she took that moment to look at him. His eyes were almost black and his moistened lips looked more inviting that ever.

He didn't say anything though. Not that she expected him to do so, he has never been a man of many words and that moment didn't seem to be the exception. He looked very concentrated and she bit hard on her lips, waiting.

Blinking a couple of times and breathing hard through her mouth, she observed as he settled her back on him and she could definitely feel his naked cock against the bare pussy.

That right there made her shiver once again and she knew that she was going to be a goner as soon as he entered her. But he didn't even tried to, he just pulled her shirt over her head and went straight for her breast. One in his hand, kneading and feeling around and the other one into his mouth, his tongue swirling around her nipple before sucking at it.

He didn't do it hard as she would have expected, and even though it wasn't tender either, it felt perfect. It made her moan and she pushed her groin to his, desperately needing to feel the hardness of him sliding in.

"Daryl…" She breathed out in a plead, her face burying into the crook of his neck. She wanted him, in some kind of way she needed it, and that he wasn't even trying to fuck her senseless as she would have expected him to do made her feel desperate.

Patience was something she has always lacked and in that moment he was testing it.

Determined, she reached for him, her hand searching and finding his cock while wrapping her fingers around him. He felt hard as stones and hot as hell and when she heard the way he sucked in a breath she bit on her lips.

She didn't even care that he was still fully clothed while she was completely naked, what she wanted she wanted right there and in that moment.

But when she lifted her hips and started to accommodate him he spoke for the first time and held her still.

"Haven't done this in a while. I don't wanna embarrass myself here." Looking into her stormy eyes, he mumbled the words as always, but she heard him just fine and understood.

Kissing him and pulling away quickly, she stroked him, swirling her wrist and thus making the head of his erection brush against the wetness between her legs.

"It's okay, you'll probably last longer than me." And that was a statement, because as she brushed him against her she could feel a sweet tension ready to burst out of her.

"Yeah?" He asked, his hands moving to her ass and feeling around her flesh.

Instead of answering, she kissed him deeper and eased herself on him. His length stretching her in the most delicious way. It has been some time for her too, and the knowledge of who this was plus the sensation of what has happening was enough. Just as he settled all the way in as his hands kept pulling her closer was enough for her to cum in his arms.

Moaning against his mouth and digging her nails to the back of his neck, she came undone in a matter of seconds. It was crazy, it was as if her insides just exploded in ecstasy, then came the way he grabbed her ass even harder and started to slam into her and she was lost in sensation.

It was intense, she came hard, clutching to him as he swallowed her moans into his kiss.

She wanted him to keep going, she wanted to run her hands through his hair and she wanted to pull from the kiss and scream, but she wasn't able to break from his lips and just buried her fingers in his hair and enjoyed the ride.

He came soon after, holding her closer and breaking the kiss to let out a few grunts. She watched him, his cheeks tinged with red, his lips parted and his eyes obscenely set on hers. It was too much, and if the moment he exploded inside of her wasn't enough, the way he kept his eyes on her was what did it and she came again.

They rode they wave together, and when their breathing started to settle back to normal they kissed, this time his hands tangling in her hair.

"Well that was sure something." He said. He was still inside of her and she chuckled.

"Can't feel my legs." She looked up to the ceiling and breathed out, still feeling wanton.

Patting her ass, he put a finger to her chin and made her look at him. "We better keep going."

Nodding and sliding off, she bit on her upper lip and blinked a couple of times, realizing that what he just said was a typical dismiss of Daryl and she started to wonder if she messed up things with him. Things could turn out to turn awkward as hell from then on and as she felt his cum sliding down her thighs she started to make her way back to the bathroom

The bucket of water she used earlier on was still there so she better use it.

But before she could disappear, she felt him pull at her arm to make her turn around.

Facing him, she looked at him expectantly, ready for whatever it was to come.

"Next time at least give me a chance to get out of my clothes, will ya?"

Unable to help it, her lips cracked into a smile and she nodded. She liked the sound of that because those words carried a lot of possibilities. His own lips curved into the phantom of a smile so she was going to assume he thought that way too. "Got it."

Sure, for now they were going to have their hands full with everything that was going on, but she was going to make sure there was going to be a next time.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So I can't seem to get these two out of my head and I had to add one more chapter. It's all smut, with little references to a made up time between the end of season 8 and the beginning of 9. It's a whole year and a half of possibilities so let's see if I can add more than this. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

CHAPTER 2

He wasn't going to come.

That was the first concrete thought to cross her mind as soon as she blinked her eyes open to find herself alone in the darkness that was swallowing everything that surrounded her, and even though her subconscious was still trying to fight its way out of the deep slumber she had inexplicably fallen into, she knew that thought to be right.

He plain and simple stood her up.

Running the palm of her right hand over her still sleepy eyes as a cold breeze swept all around her, Rosita sighed loudly, wondering how was it that she fell asleep in the first place. The last thing she remembered was that she has been waiting for him, even when she knew he probably wouldn't come she still waited… and waiting she has fallen asleep.

Being stood up was her fault though, for creating false expectations, because even though he did say yes, deep inside she knew that he probably wouldn't come.

She knew it before she even asked him. Hell, if she came to think about it, she knew way before that… she knew since almost two weeks before that night as they walked out of that old house after allowing a raw passion to take hold of them, the essence of him still in her and her lips swollen by their kissing. And even after that, once the war was won and days turned into that first week, she still knew that there probably wasn't going to be a repeat.

And yet, there she was, disappointed not only that he never showed up but let down with herself more than anything. She has been stupid earlier on for holding onto the hope that there was a possibility that they could see each other that night and that things between them could progress into something more and now it was what it was, he probably already left for The Sanctuary and who knew when would she see him again.

It was probably for the best, in her loneliness she was probably hoping for something he wasn't able to give her and the last thing she needed in her life was to get burned again.

Forcing herself out of bed and hoping that her crestfallen mind would stop thinking about him, the dark-haired walked blindly towards the window to close it. She apparently had left it wide open earlier that night and as time moved forward and crept into what she liked to call the witching hour, the cold has become a bit uncomfortable.

Oh, but it wasn't in her not to think about him. At least not in that moment, not that night after they finally crossed paths after so much time without even a glance. Because after the brief but intense moment they shared right before the final battle with The Saviors, they hadn't been able to catch up to another until that day.

Their time apart hadn't been intentional, it was just that they got ridiculously busy with the aftermatch of Negan's defeat and The Savior's surrender. Life became hectic, she had her plate full and as it seemed, he had it fuller than her. But earlier that day it happened, they both coincided, same place, same time and ever since he has gotten into her skull and it was almost impossible for her to shun him out.

With the window still open and the icy cold wind making her hair swirl, Rosita closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. She still remembered how earlier on their eyes seemed destined to find each other wherever they would go, stealing secret glances that no one but them would understand and she shivered, goosebumps flooding her skin. It could have been because of the cold, but she was almost sure that it was because of the memory of how the intensity of those blue eyes locked with her own brown orbs talked volumes without having to say a word.

She had known in that moment that she wanted them to meet that night and that it was going to be her the one who asked. After all she knew he was leaving the next day indefinitely to keep an eye on The Saviors and well, he wasn't going to ask himself and an opportunity like that could totally evade her later on. So yes, she asked before her resolution could falter. Why? She couldn't say, after all she was sure that he probably wasn't going to humor her, and not because he didn't want to, but because that was just how Daryl was and the thing when it came to him was that he wasn't the kind who thrived in getting close to others; so if she wanted something from him she would have to be the one initiating contact and just hope for the best.

That's how she did it, sure that he was going to grumble an excuse and cut things right there.

Only that he didn't, he didn't cut her off. She went to him as every fiber of her being felt on edge with his proximity and she asked, her eyes unable to leave his. But what could she say, in plain daylight his eyes looked more than gorgeous and she felt hypnotized. It was a shame those blues were always hidden behind his hair, but at the same time she felt thrilled of having those eyes just for her viewing pleasure. Even if it was just for that small lapse of time.

Back to that moment she had tried to focus by chewing on the inside of her cheecks and while doing so she realized that even though he didn't brush her off and even when she could feel that he also wanted to indulge in her even if it was just one more time, she knew… deep inside she knew that no matter what he said the results were ought to be the same, and even though he said yes, she knew he probably wasn't going to come.

"Asshole" She mumbled under her breath and pushed the window close. He could have said no and save her from stupidly waiting. She has even been dumb enough to try to look the best she could, rummaging through all her clothes to see if she had something he might find appealing. She couldn't, in a world were she would rather go with comfort to fight against the raising dead, lingerie was the last of her concerns, but she still made an effort and tried her best and came up okay, and all for nothing.

Turning on the heel of her bare foot, Rosita grabbed a sweater and put it on, her intentions had been warming herself, going back to bed and push all thought regarding Daryl off her mind, after all it was well past midnight and there were a lot of things to do tomorrow. But before she could go back under her warm comforter, she heard a sound that put all her senses on alert.

Freezing on the spot, she stood still and from where she was standing she tried to detect the sound, her ears trained when it came to that sort of thing. The noise, more of a faint creak came from outside her door, probably from downstairs and her mind got into full defense mode. She couldn't count the times walkers had surprised her in the middle of the night when she believed to be secure so she grabbed for a hunting pbubknife she kept conveniently on her bedside table and slowly opened the door of her bedroom to slip outside.

"Tara?" She asked when she corroborated that the corridor was clear because she didn't want to get ahead of herself. If it was her friend she wouldn't want to crack her skull open, but when a light came on and a voice that definitely wasn't Tara's spoke in a low growl, she startled and even squinted her eyes as a way to shield them from the abrupt brightness.

"It ain't Tara"

Recognizing that voice and his signature drawl, Rosita blew out a breath and lowered the knife. "For fuck's sake, Daryl! I could have killed you. I thought you were a walker." Feeling her heart hammering inside her chest and not necessarily because she was startled, Rosita tilted her chin up and stared at him.

With her eyes adjusting to the light he just turned on, she saw as he was walking upstairs. Getting closer and closer until he was right before her, his taller frame making her swallow on dry. "Well, it ain't a walker either. And no chance in hell you would be able to kill me."

Catching on the smugness of his voice and trying to remember if she had ever heard him using that tone, Rosita blinked slowly. His presence had caught her unprepared and because she needed to get a hold of herself, she arched an eyebrow and rested her entire weight onto her left foot. He was the last thing she had expected to see; true, it was who she wanted to see but now that her wish came true she felt out of her element.

It was as if the entire house closed in on her the moment she saw him and it made her feel anxious. He was there, and now what?

It was ridiculous, she knew Daryl and there was no reason to feel edgy around him. Hell, she has even had sex with the man so that she was feeling as a school girl who finally got her crush to notice her was stupid. Sure, in a way this felt like unexplored territory because it was premediated while what already happened between them had been born out of one of her wild impulses, meaning that no, this wasn't going to be their first rodeo, but because that first time with him has been a thing of the moment, she just went ahead with the flow and didn't think much of it.

Now it was different, just with the feeling of him being there was enough to tie her stomach in a knot and that was something she had never felt. His whole aura made her feel on the edge and his nearness and the way he was staring at her was enough to send a liquid sensation to rush straight between her legs.

Running the tip of her tongue over her lower lip, Rosita knew that things could only turn into good things from then on so she tried to get a hold and focus on what she wanted to do. True, all her efforts on looking her best went to shit since her hair, washed and combed into perfection earlier on was all tussled from sleep, the clothes she picked were covered with a big comfy sweater and the small amount of lip-gloss she even applied had long faded, but considering the fact that she has been able to get to him that first time right after he saw her all covered in vomit, she decided that she could do with what she got in that moment.

"Actually I could, I wouldn't… but I definitely could."

"Yeah? Then good to know you didn't ask me here so you could try to kill me with that thing." He reached for the knife and took it, his fingers brushing hers as his lips turned into a small smirk. "Just in case."

The tone he was using definitely wasn't one she has heard out of him before and thrilled about the possibilities his voice carried, she extended her hand as if to take the blade back; but instead of taking hold of it what she did was to run her thumb over his wrist. "Don't be testy, I didn't ask you here to kill you."

"And why did you?"

"Come here." Feeling bold, she lowered her hand and grabbed his belt, then she started to walk back into her room without breaking the eye contact. He followed her without saying anything, and once they were inside he pushed the door close with his boot and went straight to kiss her.

Now that she hadn't been exactly expecting but she gladly closed her eyes and took what he gave, rising on her tip toes as her arm went to circle his neck.

His own arms came around her waist and when his tongue sought hers, she gladly met him halfway, kissing him deeply and enjoying the way his body searched for hers by pulling her closer. Apparently there was no time to waste or he could probably be as eager as she was.

Tilting her to the side without breaking the contact of their lips, Rosita allowed him to guide her deeper into her bedroom, and it was only when she felt the back of her knees bumping against her bed that he broke the kiss.

"Turn on the light, can't see a damn thing."

She did, turning on a lamp to see him putting her knife over her bedside table. He also put in there a gun he was carrying and one of his hunting knives as well. As he did that, Rosita watched through big warm eyes, the sensation that this time Daryl Dixon did mean business making her bit her lips in anticipation.

True, last time he did his part just fine, but now, in that room the possibilities were endless and time was in their favor.

Taking in a deep breath, she moved a step forward and just as he was putting his stuff away, she began unbuttoning his shirt. Last time she didn't even gave him the chance to take his shirt off and this time she not only wanted to see him, but she also wanted to touch him. She wanted to make the best of that night in case there wouldn't be another.

Without saying anything, the older of the two allowed her to take the shirt away and then he kissed her again, lifting her off the floor and placing her on top of her drawer. That way, with his body accommodated between her legs and their kiss renewed with even more hunger than before, she touched him.

Her restless hands went from his waist and up to his sides, enjoying the smoothness of his skin and then the firmness of his flat stomach. He felt strong underneath her touch, and when the pad of her fingers kept exploring until she reached his arms, she loved the feeling of his toned muscles.

Daryl, the man was always bundled up so discovering what he was hiding made her smile into the kiss.

But that wasn't the only surprise, because for being such a stern man he sure was a sweet kisser. True, his kiss didn't lack intensity, but he wasn't all over the place like other men would do and she particularly loved how his hand would hold the back of her head as if to prevent him her for breaking away, thing that she obviously wasn't planning on doing.

Actually, it was him the one who pulled away, moment that he took to take off her sweater. It came off of her along with her shirt and after throwing them away, he went ahead and took off her shorts, leaving her in the only decent matching set of underwear that she owned. It was a good pair, black laced and very smooth to the touch, and when she caught the glint of his eyes as he scanned her over, she was glad that she found them in the bottom of her drawers.

"So this is why you asked me over." His voice, so low in his throat made her tremble and when lowered his face to place a kiss on her collarbone, she hummed. Then he dragged his lips down to the edge of her bra and he kissed her there too.

Opening her moistened lips but not saying a word, Rosita leaned forward and searched for his pants, taking off his belt as his lips closed over one of her hard nipples. True, it was through the fabric of her bra but even though the warmness of his mouth was enough to make feel needy for more.

Enjoying the feeling, she reached even lower between their bodies and grabbed the bulge in his pants. He was hard and she had to use her whole hand to have a good feel of him, her palm sliding up and then down so she could get the whole length of him.

"I want this." She whispered in his ear, squeezing him in her hand as her nose caught the distinct aroma of soap from his skin. He had apparently taken a shower before going to her and for some reason that made her feel even more eager for him.

Just to think of him getting ready for her was enough to drive her more into him.

So yes, she wanted him bad, her panties were already soaked in anticipation and she wanted him to relieve that sweet ache that had taken her prisoner. But instead of humoring her, he smirked and pushing her bra down her breast, he ran his tongue against her skin before sucking lightly her newly exposed flesh.

Closing her eyes and throwing her head until it could rest against the mirror, Rosita finished with the task of unzipping his pants and when she slid them out of the way, she found out that the bastard had nothing underneath his pants. He had gone full comando on her and if her mind had been compromised before, now it went straight into the gutter.

As he busied himself with her breast, taking turns with each one of them, Rosita grabbed him without the inconvenience of his pants on the way and gave him a few jerks. He growled, low and against her skin and this time she was the one who smirked, pulling his erection to the aching spot between her legs and rubbing it against her.

But because she wanted a more personal contact, she moved the crotch of her panties to the side and then did it again, making the crown of his erection rub against her slick folds.

Lifting his head he pressed his mouth to hers, his tongue swirling into her mouth as she kissed him back. She was still holding him secure against her, and not wanting to wait any longer she pushed into him until he was all the way settled inside of her.

Unable to help it, she pulled from his lips and pressed her forehead to his. With her being so wet he had gone smoothly in, but as his fingers dug into her hips and her legs spread as far as her underwear would allow, she felt overwhelmed by sensation and she didn't want to lose control so early into the night.

She wanted to enjoy the ride slowly, but when he moved within her, almost withdrawing to then go back in, she almost lost it. It made her crave for something hard and fast, something that would make her ache in the most satisfying way once morning came.

"Is this want to wanted?" He hissed, repeating the movement again, pulling almost all the way out, and going back in.

"Yes." She panted as her eyes observed what he was doing, watching as if in a trance as his hips pushed against her until his girth was all the way in. He went back and forth with that and after a few seconds, she moved her eyes to his face. That was when she realized that he was looking too, his face a mask of pure concentration.

That was probably why he was doing what he was doing, to watch as his cock would slide deep into her and then back out. It was fine by her, she wanted him to watch and enjoy himself, the only inconvenience that she had was that his calm didn't match her need, and even though she knew there was no rush, she wanted to speed things a bit.

But it was as if he could sense it and instead of letting her have it her way, he was enjoying torturing her.

Before she could complain out loud, Daryl lifted her up against him and when her legs automatically wrapped around him, he settled his hands to her ass and carried her to bed. He did it without pulling out, but when he reached the bed and lay her down on her back, he withdrew.

Taking off the rest of his clothes before doing the same to her, he pushed some of his hair from his face and went down with her. He didn't linger thought, he just kissed her lips briefly, straightened up and then he reached down for her legs so he could effortlessly drag her across the mattress, all the way until her knees were bent at the edge of the bed.

Holding her breath and her eyes full on him, she watched as he pulled her legs apart, lowered himself into a crouching position over the floor and then dragged her even more into him. Once she was close enough, he leaned his face forward and placed his lips to her inner thigh.

Gulping hard and lifting a hand so she could touch his hair, Rosita closed her eyes. For some reason she felt tense and she randomly thought that he definitely wanted to torture her, she knew because he then started to little by little move his lips higher up her flesh until his nose was almost brushing against her sex.

"Do you want to kill me here?" She asked through clenched teeth because really, even though she would have never in her life expect Daryl to be the kind of man who would go down on her, now that he hinted that he could she wanted him to do it.

Who would have thought, way before she got to discover the most intimate side of him he had struck her as a wham bam thank you ma'am type of man and well, he wasn't.

"Has anyone told you that you are a very impatient woman?" Saying that, his lips brushed lightly against her lower lips and at the sensation she sucked in a breath. But instead of keeping the contact, he just pulled her legs even farther apart and watched her, his eyes drinking on the perfect image that was her in all her vulnerability.

But then it happened, before she could beg him to take care of her, he made his tongue dart forward and he licked his way from her slit and all the way up to her clit.

Unable to hold it, Rosita moaned and he took that as an encouragement to go even farther; licking, sucking and closing his lips against her burning flesh as she slowly started to give in into the moment. She could feel the tension building in the pit of her stomach already and her hand went to her mouth so she could bit on her knuckles. The other hand was still on his hair, keeping him in place.

As he kept on, from time to time she would emit a series of low moans that seemed to be torn right from the most secret part of her being and even though she was trying to keep them away, most of them escaped her lips. She wasn't sure if Tara was home, but if she was she didn't want to wake her up to the sound of her moans.

"That's it…" He whispered darkly against her. "Let me know how much you like this… show me."

Her back arched off the mattress and she let out a groan, and as he continued feasting off her flesh she lost it, her moans started to come more often and her hips started moving forward as her fingers began pulling softly at his hair so she could then add pressure into his head so he could go deeper and stronger.

Then in a matter of nothing she cried a 'fuck' and she came undone as he flickered his tongue around her clit one more time; that was it for her and with his mouth pressing into her she let go.

And Daryl, he held her hips in place and took all she had to give. He even pushed his tongue deep into her before pulling away and climbing on top of her. Then before she could completely ride down from her climax, he pushed himself back into her contracting entrance.

"Shit." He mumbled before she pulled his head down so she could kiss him.

The full weight of his naked body resting against her felt divine and she wrapped her legs around him; she wanted to feel him as deep as he could go. With that angle, he had no problem reaching deep, and loving how that felt she kept kissing him.

Panting and breathing hard into the kiss, she ran her hands down his back, his whole body felt as if sculpted in hard muscles and she couldn't get enough of him. Then it was the friction of his groin against her clit as his cock pushed deep into her, his tempo becoming more insistent, even harder.

She was a goner once again, and because the feeling was overwhelming she released his lips and gasped out loud. "Fuck, Daryl don't stop, don't stop."

His lips went to her throat and bit lightly before smoothing her skin with his tongue, "I'm gonna cum."

Securing the hold of her legs on him so he wouldn't dare pull away, she searched for his mouth and kissed him, her tongue taking control of the situation as he started to empty himself inside of her. His breathing labored, his body tensing and his rhythm erratic, Rosita held him to her and received the warm essence of him into her.

In her mind there was nothing that could seal an intimate union more that than, letting him cum into her and that this was the second time it happened felt great. All of him felt great.

It wasn't until he growled and rolled his hips to hers one last time that she let go of the kiss.

For a while neither one said anything, they just focused on getting their breathing back to normal and waited for the beating of their hearts to settle down. The silence didn't feel awkward, at least not for her so she made no effort to break it for a while.

Meanwhile, he remained inside of her, even when she could feel his cum running down her ass and then pooling underneath her.

"That was amazing." She said at last, her lips moving to the spot right below his earlobe and placing a kiss there.

"Hmm" He mumbled, moving his face to the side so she could have better access. By then his cock was no longer hard, but he kept it in place. It felt funny and she was sure that it would slip out soon enough, but it didn't.

"So it is the Sanctuary for you, uh?" She asked and no because she wanted to fill the silence but before she wanted to know if what she heard was true.

"Yeah…" He replied and by his tone she was going to guess that he wasn't thrilled. "I hate that fucking place."

Sighing and placing a hand to his face, she made him look at her, and when his blue eyes finally found hers she pecked his lips. She wasn't going to ask him, but she was almost sure that if he was going was because Rick asked him to. She had heard the other man say he needed someone he could thrust blindly to keep an eye over there and who better that Daryl?

"But you know, we can't always do what we want."

Pursing her lips and arching an eyebrow, she allowed her fingers to run down his shoulder and to his arm. "Well, not always… but sometimes we can do what we want, what make us feel good."

Moving his eyes down to her lips, he nodded. It was amazing, but she could feel that he was getting hard into her and the possibilities made her tingle all over.

"Maybe you can go from time to time to The Sanctuary and you know, remind me." With that said he grabbed her thigh and kissed her, slowly at first and then as he started moving within her, a little more passionately.

Kissing him back, Rosita tugged at his lips playfully with her teeth and decided that yes, she was definitely going to remind him time and time again…

TBC?


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Well I'm mixing this up a bit, mild smut I guess and some drama. Enjoy if you can!

' _There's always been a little bit of sadness inside my happiness. I've never been able to separate the two.'_

Going over those words over and over again inside her head as her finger absentmindedly ran lazy circles against the edge of the shot glass that sat empty over the table in front of her, Rosita Espinosa stared into the distance as everything and everyone moved around her. She sat there as if in a trance, her mind miles away as the faint sound of someone singing eluded her.

Now, she couldn't remember where she read those words, but in that particular day they just popped into her mind and in her drunken stupor she found them to be almost poetic. It was kind of weird since she wasn't one to enjoy embellished phrases but somehow, she couldn't get them out of her head.

It felt as if the words were written exclusively for her and if it wasn't because she wasn't alone she would have ventured to say them out loud just to listen to they way they would roll out of her tongue. Maybe she could do it without anyone noticing, after all as far as she could tell everyone seemed to be chattering at once and her voice could go unnoticed among all the others.

"Hey Rosita, are you still here with us? It's your turn."

Humming and shaking out of her reverie, Rosita tilted her chin up, her eyes finding the grinning face of her friend and partner in crime, Tara. "Still here." Blowing out a breath, she moved her eyes to check the set of cards in her hand and then the ones in the table and for the life of her she couldn't focus on the game. It was as if the cards were there just to mock her with their stupid simplicity and without thinking it twice she let them fall over the table. "Screw this."

Instead of gloating over the fact that Rosita giving up meant that she won, Tara just placed her own cards over the table and sighing in a way that sounded way too overdramatically in the Latina's ears, the other woman spoke again.

"Guys, I've never said this before but I love you."

Looking sideways at the man sitting right beside her, Rosita tried not to react to those words, but when the blond returned her look and then started laughing, she couldn't help it. Initially she tried to hold it, but first her cheeks gave the sightless tremble and she had to bit into them as a way to stop it, but for the good it did she shouldn't have even done it because the burst came out up forcibly and once it was at the back of her throat she could barely conceal it.

Before she could help it, she choked on it and it escaped, making her laugh out loud along the man known around as Jesus.

"What's so funny you assholes?"

"You are drunk talking to us." Jesus said once his laughter subsided.

Shrugging and reaching for her own shot glass, Tara drank the rest of the golden liquid still on it. She drank slowly, savoring as Rosita taught her earlier on and not slugging it down at a speed. That was how tequila was meant to be drank, at least good tequila and what they had was some the best there could be found. "Well it's true. And I'm glad we are here together in this special day. Cheers."

"I'll drink to that too."

Watching her two friends and then all around her, Rosita smiled faintly. It was a really a special day, after all Maggie's baby was just born and Hilltop seemed to be in a feisty mood. Even the air felt vibrant with so much good vibes and as she scanned around, she even heard someone singing.

So yes, it was a good day… but even though she did feel happy, she couldn't help but to feel something close to melancholy settling in her gut and extending all through her body. She started feeling that way as soon as they told her that Maggie gave birth to a healthy baby boy and with the excuse of celebrating, she brought two bottles of the best alcohol she had and started day drinking with Tara and Jesus. Now as a result she was feeling right between the fine line of being buzzed and completely drunk.

"To friends, happiness and babies!"

Reaching for the bottle of tequila, Rosita filled her shot glass but she didn't drink. "Happiness. Do you think we could ever be really happy in this crappy world we are living in?"

Snorting, Tara shook her head. "It depends, I mean if you think about the walkers and how everything went to shit I would say no. But we can get there, I mean… Jesus and I can be happy to be a alive and kicking it and you can be happy to have a boyfriend."

This time it was Rosita's turn to snort. "Boyfriend? And who said that I have a boyfriend? I thought that word died along with the rest of civilization."

"You seem pretty happy to me. I mean… you know, taking in consideration that you are kind of… that your whole demeanor is a bit…" Jesus stooped and looked up as if to find the right words and Rosita had to blink a couple of times as she waited for him to finish what he was going to say.

"That my whole demeanor is what?" She spat at last, turning to the side to face him.

"He's trying to say that even though you are kind of bitchy you look happy."

"I didn't say that." Smiling and lifting his hand in defense, Jesus said. "But before your thing with Daryl you were like a clench fist and well, you kind of loosened up a bit."

Rolling her eyes, Rosita shook her head. "Well, I am content."

"Just content is not the impression you give whenever you get to see him. Do you know he gave her a bike, a freaking bike!" Tara said and at that Rosita did smile.

If she had to be completely honest, she would have to agree that for the past six months or so she has been more than a little content, especially whenever she got to see Daryl. True, they hadn't put a label to what they had and they sure as hell hadn't been announcing it, but people noticed and she knew that they talked. After all, there was no way to hide the fact that every time she went to The Sanctuary she would always disappear along with him or that they would often spend hours roaming around the empty fields or that whenever he visited Hilltop, which happened to be where Rosita was living for now he would spend the night, with her.

That was without mentioning the bike that he found and fixed for her or the time he got into a fight with a Savior who questioned why his 'bitch' got to be armed and not them. So yeah, people talked. Not that she cared; she and Daryl were having fun and that was nobody's business but their own. But as good as things were with them, there was always a nagging feeling in the back of her head telling her that she shouldn't get too comfortable.

"I'm glad to see you happy." Tara said while reaching forward to pat Rosita's hand. "You deserve it and Daryl is a good guy. A little rough around the edges but since you are not Happy McSally it's okay."

"A little rough he is, first day we met he sucker punched me in the face after chasing me around. I laugh about it now because it was ridiculous, but back then I was sure he was going to kill me. But you know, he's hard on the outside but deep inside he's a softie."

"Denisse would have been thrilled to see you two together."

And there it was again, melancholy gnawing at her bones with the memory of everyone that couldn't be there in that special day. But because she didn't want to fall victim of her hidden demons, she blew out a breath and trying to change the subject, she poured more tequila for her friends. "Are we getting sappy now? We are celebrating."

The three of them drank, lost into their own thoughts. Then just when she was about to put her glass down she saw the gate open and in came Daryl and he didn't seem to be in the best of moods.

"Shit, why didn't you tell me he was getting here today." Rosita asked because she thought he was going to arrive late into the next day. If she had known, she must definitely wouldn't have drank as much as she did because she liked to be into full capacity when it came to Daryl.

"And how was I to know, he isn't my man."

Not minding Jesus' words, she got to her feet and walked towards the house she shared with Tara. That was where Daryl went straight into and once she made it into her room she found him there, putting his things over a small desk she had near the window and yeah, looking everything but thrilled.

"Did she have the baby yet?" He asked and she could see an unlit cigarette between his fingers; it looked as if he was looking for a lighter or a match, proof that no, he wasn't in the best of moods.

As of late he only smoked when he was having a bad day at the Sanctuary or whenever the name of Negan and the fact that he was still alive and under Rick's custody was mentioned around him.

"Yes, a boy, strong and healthy."

Daryl hummed, his back was to her when she told him the news so she couldn't see his reaction, but because it has been almost a week since she last saw him and she wanted a more personal contact, she went straight to him and once they were face to face she rose on her tip toes and circled his neck with her arms. "Hi."

"Hey." He replied and she kissed him lightly, unable to hold the sheepish grin that broke into her lips.

She knew a more effective way of improving his mood, at least for the time being and since she has been having a special craving for him for a while now, it would do both of them good. "You seem tense, so let me prepare a bath to help you relax."

"A bath, are you saying I stink now?"

His tone was a bit harsh but because he wrapped an arm around her waist and looked at her with that glint in his eyes that still to that day left her breathless, Rosita didn't mind. "No, I'm saying I want to get you naked in a bath with me."

Now, as he looked down on her, she couldn't help but to question herself once again about what happened last time they were together. In any normal couple it would have meant nothing, but reality was that they were not a normal couple because all of their meetings were based over one thing and one thing only, sex. Sure, they talked some, but what prevailed between them was more physical than any other thing. It was a silent agreement and she liked it that way; simple was safe, and she didn't feel antsy with safe.

But then came last time and that has been different and to that day she couldn't put a finger to why it shook her so much.

She has been indisposed when he came, and he still stuck around, so thinking that watching with him one of the movies Tara had in her growing collection could give her some time until she would feel well enough to at least treat him with the always effective blow job in occasions as those, she sat with him in the living room and watched the damned movie. But before the movie even finished she fell asleep and when she woke up she was snuggled against him, her face resting against his chest, her arms wrapped to his midsection and her feet tangled with his.

It has been morning by then and Daryl was fast asleep too. He left when she woke him up and didn't even wanted to stay for the coffee Tara offered with the stupidest grin on her face.

"You've been drinking." He stated, taking her out of her thoughts and instead of replying she just shrugged.

"Let me get the bath running." Taking the cigarette from his hand and placing it along with the rest of his things, Rosita hurried and did as she wanted to do. It took her a while since her limbs were not fully cooperating but she managed.

Once that was done, she tied her hair in a bun on top of her head and then she guided him into the bathroom. He followed without objection as he always did because whether it was a bath in her house, a quickie against a tree or sneaking into Oceanside so that they could have sex on the beach, Daryl had no problem complying to her every desire.

She did the same for him too, and to that day, six months since the two of the started whatever was going on between them, she could say that they had done it all and she still wanted more.

It was insane, but the man had a way of dominating all her senses without even saying a word and she couldn't even begin to describe all the crazy things she felt when his eyes would find hers or when his fingers ran along her body. Take that moment for instance, he was watching without saying anything as she undressed and she could already feel edgy.

But it seemed as if his mood prevented him from doing more than just look and it took a little bit of persuasion to make him get out of his clothes and into the bathtub with her.

"Bad day?"

They were facing each other, and in that position she could feel the entire length of his legs resting against hers. It made her feel giddy, and she couldn't say if it was because the tequila in her system or the simple fact that his eyes were focused entirely on her.

"More of the same, babysitting a bunch of assholes that would rather be left alone."

Chewing on the inside of her cheecks, Rosita grabbed for a bottle of body wash and poured some into her hand, then leaning forward she ran her hands over his chest. Daryl just watched somberly and she knew that she had to do more than what she was doing to get him out of his sour mood. But first she wanted to touch him with the pretense of the bath, so after his chest she went to wash and then rinse his neck, his arms and then slowly down between his legs. He was hard by then and she had to smile because even though he wasn't exactly cooperating into the moment, what she had in her hand was enough proof that he was enjoying what she was doing.

She liked that, because as of late she oddly found herself addicted to making him feel good. She particularly liked how his face would blush in the brims of his passion and the way his eyes would darken and his grip would tighten. Then there was the timber of his voice and his scent and well, all of him!

"Have I ever told you that I really, really like you?"

At that, he smiled one of his rare smiles, the kind that showed his teeth and she smiled too. And yes, she was more than a little buzzed because that kind of talk wasn't much like her. True, she would often say how much she liked any particular thing he would do to her while being intimate, but no more than that.

"I kind of figured it out." He said, and even though the smile was gone his face didn't seem as grave as it did when she first saw him that day. "I like you too."

'Yeah, I figured." Keeping her hold on him and closing her palm into a fist, she slowly started to move her hand from the base of his erection to the crown of it while sliding closer. The movement was methodical, and the closer she got the bigger her smile would get. "Which serves me well because you really have to like me in order for you to do what I want you to do to me."

At her words, his hands moved to her waist and he pulled her closer, the sudden movement making her feel as if she was going to fall backwards and straight into the water. She released him so that she could hold onto his shoulders and a small gasp came out of her mouth.

Her reaction surprised herself and she laughed out loud. "You want to drown me here?"

"You're silly when you drunk."

"I'm not drunk." But maybe she was… so trying to get a hold of herself she tried to prove it. "You however, get too serious when you're mad."

"I aint mad." He shrugged. "Just aint looking forward going to see Maggie and her baby."

And there it was once again, that feeling she has been trying to wrestle into submission all day long. Daryl more anyone would know about that feeling, because very much like her, he had the bad habit of blaming himself for everything bad that would happen.

Specially when it came to anything relating Glen. What Daryl didn't know was that in her worse days, back when the will to keep living was only based on vengeance, she would also blame herself for that one, for Glen. Because in her mind if she would have looked as Negan told her to do, Daryl wouldn't have gone ahead of himself and punch the man.

If only she would have looked.

It took a lot of time for her to understand that it hadn't been her fault. Neither had been Olivia's death or Sasha's or even Eugene going with the Saviors and collaborating in the deaths of everyone in the war. No, it hadn't been her fault, it has been all Negan.

But even though she understood that now, she could not shake off her mind the way it felt to wish it has been her the one Negan killed first. Everything would have been so different for everybody if it would have been her.

Closing her eyes and resting her forehead against his, she moved her hand to the back of his head and buried her fingers into his hair. "You know she doesn't blame you. No one does." She reassured him because last thing she wanted was for him to feel as she had felt. But instead of replying he just moved his face closer to hers and kissed her.

That day the gave into each other slowly, clinging to one another and without saying a word. They touched and kissed with a sweet urgency as if it was their first time and in the aftermatch of it, it made her feel a bit confused and it wasn't until they were dressed and visiting Maggie and her newborn that it hit her.

It didn't happen at once and she definitely didn't see it coming as she stood under the doorframe of the new mother's bedroom, more alert now that the effects of the tequila was wearing off; she was just there, watching as Maggie put her baby in Daryl's arms and smiling at the look in both their faces.

He took the boy with ease and as he walked around the room with him in his arms, he looked happy as he talked to the baby. He was even smiling, Maggie and Enid were also smiling at whatever he was saying and it came into her mind that she probably could find happiness there too. After all Hilltop was a good place to settle down, peace was finally becoming a reality, she had friends and she had Daryl… she could even love him, if she didn't already, thing that she wasn't exactly sure if she did or not.

That thought right there freaked her out because getting comfortable enough to want more than what she had and thinking about love was a mistake she swore not to make. No… she has been living in that new cruel world long enough to know that everything would go straight to hell just when people got comfortable enough to think everything was as good as it could get.

Maggie was a great example of that, because despite the circumstances she found the best life she could have, she found love and when everything was at its best, it went fast into hell. It all crumbled into nothing at her feet and out of nowhere and now she was there, having given birth to a baby that was going to live without a father in a decaying world where the dead walked the earth.

She didn't want to put herself into that position because she knew that happiness wasn't possible, one could easily believe it was achievable but then something would happen to destroy it all and she wouldn't be able to take it. No… that was why she always kept Spencer at a distance, and to prove her theory right look at what happened.

But with Daryl, she just realized that she cared about him more than what she should and if anything would happen to him it would destroy her and she was sure that she wouldn't be able to pull out of that one.

Feeling overwhelmed, she turned around and without saying a thing she hurried back to her room. She needed time to put her thoughts in order, but right in that moment it seemed impossible. She just felt as if she needed to get out of there so grabbing for her backpack, she started to put random things in it.

Maybe she could go to Alexandria for a while, she didn't feel comfortable there now that Negan was imprisoned there but she sure as hell couldn't go into The Sanctuary.

It was just when she was looking for her hunting knives that he came in. "Hey, you ok?"

Shaking her head and holding tight into the backpack, Rosita looked everywhere but him. "I need to go… I um…." Before finishing that sentence, she had a daja vu moment. Only that the roles were inverted now and she was the one fleeing the scene without the intention of a real explanation and as confused as she was feeling, she knew she couldn't do that to him.

It has been a hard blow when Abraham did it to her because she hadn't been expecting it, and she didn't want Daryl to feel that way. Besides she wasn't even sure what she wanted to do, she just needed to think.

"I just need to think about this."

"About what?" He asked and from his tone she could guess that he knew what was coming.

Shaking her head and covering her face with her hand, Rosita said nothing. She could feel her eyes prickling behind her closed eyelids and the last thing she needed in that moment was to cry. Maybe she shouldn't have downed so much tequila, because even though she felt alert enough, her mind was still a bit compromised.

"Don't beat around the bush and just fucking say it."

Taking her hand off her face and gathering the courage look at him even tough her eyes were full of unshed tears and she could feel her lips trembling, she sighed. "This is not what I wanted…" Her voice trembled but she managed to keep her eyes on him.

Pushing the inside of the corner of his lips with his tongue, Daryl nodded. He looked mad and Rosita couldn't say that she could blame him, after all everything has been perfect a moment ago and now this; but instead of replying he walked in, took his things and went out.

Once he was out, a sob escaped her and she felt the urge of going after him, and as she stood there the notion that she screwed up started to consume her whole...

TBC?

Well, my Rosita muse was feelimg a bit dramatic, let's see if she wants to behave or if she goes and fix things.


	4. Chapter 4

"Did you know Daryl is here?"

Pushing the inside of her cheek with her tongue and squinting her eyes so that she could get a better look at what she was doing, Rosita paid no attention whatsoever to the words the new comer just spat out. She didn't even look up, she just firmly tightened the handlebar to the body of the bicycle she was working on and gave it a couple of jerks to make sure it wasn't going to move. When she was satisfied with the results she adjusted her cap and changed her attention to the tires; she needed to make sure they were perfectly placed over the rims.

"Are you listening to me, I said Daryl was here."

Again, she said nothing because what could she possibly say to that? That she has known about his upcoming presence way before the gate was even opened? That she knew because even from miles away she could recognize the sound of his bike anywhere, anytime? Who knew, maybe if she opted for saying that she could even get chatty and tell Tara of the multiple times she has hopped on behind him in that bike, arms tight around his waist, hair wild in the wind and an exhilarating feeling in her gut as they drove to wherever they could be alone.

"Rosita." The other woman hissed.

From her spot sitting down on the grass, the Latina could detect the impatience in her friend's voice and she just knew that she wasn't going to drop it just because she was trying to ignore her. "I heard you just fine, I just don't know what you want me to say."

"Well, I am not expecting you to tell me anything, I am however expecting you to go and talk to him. You know, just as you said you were going to do."

Rolling her eyes and placing the wrench she has been just using for the bike assembly frenzy she had submerged into, Rosita finally looked up to see the way Tara was standing a couple of feet away from her. She was with her arms folded to her chest an a look on her face that talked purely business. In other words, she looked like she was going to annoy the hell out of her with the same subject as all the previous times, Daryl.

Yeah, it was true that more than a week ago when she and Daryl had their fallout, Tara had walked in on her when she wasn't feeling herself and in a bonding moment they ended up drinking the last of the tequila and talking the night away. They told each other a lot of things that they wouldn't say when sober; they talked about Denise, about why Rosita didn't want to open up and in the middle of all that talking, it could have been that she ended up promising Tara that she was going to talk to Daryl and try to fix things. How and why that came to be she didn't remember, but the thing was that the woman hadn't let go of her throat ever since about her lack of fulfilling that promise.

"Well…" She began to say with a shrug. "I'm busy right now so…."

Scoffing, Tara threw her arms to her sides. "Putting bikes together for the kids? Rosita, you don't even like kids."

"What are you talking about, I like kids. In fact I like them so much that I want them to have the closest thing to a normal childhood and for that guess what they need? Bikes."

"We don't even have so many kids at Hilltop."

Looking around, she saw at least eleven bikes lying around her. Some finished, some needed a little more work. "Alexandria has kids and so does the Kingdom." Besides there were bikes of all sizes so who said only the kids could benefit from them.

"Alright, Mrs. Santa Claus, what about before this little bicycle project? What about the thing with the seeds or going on endless supply runs for all the communities? Well, not for all of them because yes, you'll go everywhere but to The Sanctuary. Rosita, we used to go there at least twice a week to help in whatever they needed and now you wouldn't even set foot behind the gate. Then every time you know he'll come here you suddenly disappear or make yourself busy and all for what, just to evade him?" Scoffing once more, Tara continued. "Why don't you just come out and admit that you are too chickenshit to do as you promised?"

Snorting in everything but amusement, Rosita brushed the dirt on her hands against her pants and focused her eyes on Tara. "I'm not making myself busy, I'm making myself useful. Maybe if you did the same you wouldn't waste so much time nosing in my shit."

Blinking a couple of times, Tara shook her head. "Do you remember what you told me that night when I found you crying your eyes out?"

Taking in a deep breath and keeping in her face a smile she wasn't feeling, Rosita shrugged. "I was drunk, I talked about a bunch of shit and as it happens, I can't remember all of it."

"You said that happiness was an illusion and that you didn't want to fool yourself into believing you could finally be in a good place in life because sooner or later it was all going to end in the worse way possible and that you didn't think you could handle seeing it crumble at your feet. Well, you want to know what I think? I think that you are never going to be in that good place and not because it isn't possible, but because you are sabotaging your own happiness. You Rosita, are your own worse enemy and it makes me so mad because there are so many of us here that would give everything to have the shot that you have, to have the one you love right here at reaching distance. But we can't because they are dead and by God that if I had the chance to go back I would do it just to spent every minute that I can with Denise and you that have Daryl here… "

Stopping there and wiping at her eyes, Tara shrugged. She didn't say anything for a while and Rosita was sure that she was going to swirl around and leave. But she didn't, once a bit more composed she went on.

"The only one wasting her time here is you, and you are doing it in the most cowardly way, so why don't you do as you once told me and grow the fuck up."

"Just drop it Tara." Rosita said at last. Her tone wasn't harsh tough, it came off tired and defeated.

"At least tell him why you ended it. You know how Daryl blames himself for everything that goes wrong and he probably thinks it was something he did and don't you think he at least deserves to know? Anyway, he's sticking around until Jesus comes, then they'll meet Maggie and after he's gone." And with that said, she did leave.

Pushing her cap so low that half her face ended up hidden, Rosita blew out a breath. She knew Tara was right in everything; she has been keeping herself busy in order to keep her mind occupied and far from any thought that reminded her of Daryl and yes, she definitely has been delaying an encounter with him. But it wasn't necessarily because she was afraid, but because she didn't know what to say.

She didn't even know how she felt about him and in her mind she needed to at least figure it out first. Sure, she cared about him a lot but how could she not? After everything they've been through together it was impossible not to feel certain bond. But on the other hand, she cared about all the people of their group also so that didn't necessarily meant love.

Besides, all the fuss and he probably didn't even care. If anything, Daryl was aloof as hell most of the time and that she decided to cut whatever it was that they had probably didn't affect him as much as it did her. But even if that was the case, she needed to tell him and the more she waited, the less probable it was going to be that she actually talked to him.

So yes, why not do it now and get it over with? At least that way she could get Tara off her throat. She could even keep it simple, a sorry I was a jerk, it wasn't you, it was me blah blah blah and that was it, give it closure.

"I can do that." That way and trying not to think much on it or else she would never do it, Rosita got to her feet and started roaming around. The Hilltop colony wasn't so big and if Daryl wasn't at the house with Maggie yet, he should be somewhere outdoors and if he was, she knew exactly where. So walking behind the house, she spotted him right where she assumed he would be.

He was by himself as the many times she has come to meet him there, sitting over a picnic table, feet on the seat and well, sitting on top of the table. He seemed to be engrossed in cutting a small piece of wood with a pocket knife and it wasn't until she was close enough that he looked.

It was only a passing glance, his head tilted up when he felt her coming but when he saw her his eyes only lingered for a couple of seconds before going back to what he was doing.

It was in that moment that she knew things were not going to be as easy as she thought; first because the way he looked away only meant that he was salty and didn't want to be bothered and second, because she hadn't realized how much she has missed him until she saw him. Sure to a certain extent she knew she missed him, after all he was constantly in her head and the way she would maintain herself extremely busy was a way to shut that down, but the truth was that she just hadn't realized how that was all in vain because just one look at him was enough to put her back on ground zero.

And now she was there, mentally unprepared for a talk with him. But it was what it was so clearing her throat and wiping the palm of her hands to her pants, Rosita spoke. "Do you want to talk?"

Without looking up, Daryl kept cutting at the wood. "Nah."

Having a feeling that she started with the wrong foot, Rosita crossed her arms to her chest and twisted her lips in what could be considered a petulant manner. It was a mechanism defense tactic she has mastered over the years. "Well, can I talk?"

Daryl gave a nonchalant shrug. "You can do whatever the hell you want to." His words even though kind of cutting only made her think on how she has even missed his voice. The way he would talk in that low growl that felt as if ripped straight from the deepest parts of him always had always had an effect of her and even to that day, that hasn't changed.

But she hadn't come to muse about all the things she missed of him so clearing her throat again she walked closer to climb onto the picnic table and sit by his side. She sat close enough but making sure not to touch him.

"I'm an asshole." She said, plain and simple. All her life she has been catalogued as bitchy, more often than not abrasive and she carried an attitude that would always get her in trouble. Her mother said it was the Latina in her, that it was in her blood to be edgy and bold but the truth was that she was just an asshole. "I shouldn't have ended things between us the way I did and I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it. It was no big deal, we were just screwing around."

At those words, Rosita lowered her head and with one of her hands she pushed the brim of her cap lower. What Daryl just said should be her cue to leave, after all she didn't come to him to try and fix things, she just wanted to apologize and as it seemed, the man hadn't even cared enough to consider what she did a problem. But it was as if her ass was glued to the table and her legs wouldn't cooperate in helping her getting up.

Straightening her back, Rosita looked down to her hands and considered her next words. Daryl was still using the pocket knife to massacre the piece of wood and he didn't seem to have the intention of stopping. "Was it just that, sex?"

At the question, Daryl stopped what he was doing with his hands and for a couple of seconds that seemed to drag into eternity he looked at her. "It was for you so why the hell couldn't it have been for me too?"

Her left leg leaned a little into him and her knee lightly brushed against his. He didn't pull away and she wondered why she was still there? But it was just that Tara's words kept dancing inside her skull and the logic of not getting attached felt off. It was as her friend told her that night when everything went to hell, the world they were living in was an uncertain one and a lot of things could happen. Yeah, it was true that no one was safe and Daryl was no exception, but wouldn't it be better to milk every opportunity for everything that it had instead of backing off just because she was too afraid to lose it?

"Tara told me you were sulking." And she had, the first time she missed out on going to The Sanctuary she told her when she asked about Daryl. By the second time a less sympathetic Tara said that if she wanted to know about him she should go and ask her herself.

Back at abusing the piece of wood to the point were it almost disappeared from his hands, Daryl arched an eyebrow. "She told me you were moping."

"What a pendeja." Rosita said in a bitter chuckle, she couldn't believe her friend sold her out like that. It also made her wonder what else she told him.

"Was it true?" He asked, throwing what was left of the wood as far as it could get so he could now focus on her.

"Maybe I was. It wasn't just sex for me, Daryl. I wanted it to be just that but you know, shit happens." Her knee pressed a bit more into his and her fingers itched to move towards his new free hand so that she could touch him, but she didn't. She didn't want to push it.

"Then why end it?" His tone, very different than the cutting one he has been using since the beginning of their conversation made her look away.

"I don't know." Blowing out a breath and lifting her hands up in the air just to let them fall back into her lap, Rosita shrugged and focused her eyes up into the sky. "I guess I just freaked out. I…" Shrugging once again and realizing that she hadn't come to him to say this, she closed her eyes. "Tara says I'm my own worse enemy and maybe she's right. For a long time everything I did was because I was angry, I was so consumed with it that I was blinded. I was on a path of self destruction and I didn't even know it. At least no until I saw Sasha walking out of that coffin, because that's when I realized that I wanted it to be me, that it should have been me."

And that was something she hadn't told anyone, not even to Tara in their night of drunken confessions.

"Then I got shot and while everything happened around me I just felt empty, I walked and did things on automatic and I just went along with everything. I felt defeated and as if nothing mattered, but then things started with you and all that started to change. It didn't feel like I was an empty shell anymore and when it hit me I freaked out and bolted because I didn't want to feel anything, I didn't want to feel anything at all because it was safer that way. Feeling only meant I was opening myself up for the possibility of even more loss and I didn't think I would be able to handle that again."

Blinking her eyes open, she looked at him. He was just there, listening and staring intently at her.

"I don't expect you to understand because I don't even understand myself. I'm just messed up."

"Aren't we all?"

"I'm sorry I dragged you into my shit." Her hand got nearer to his and their knuckles touched.

"I told you not to sweat it, you kicking me to the curb is hardly the worst thing that has happened to me. But I do get you, I don't get close to people either, I never had and you know why? Because ever since I can remember I knew I could only count on myself to get my shit together." His tone was back at cutting, even bitter. "I had to fend on my own even when I was a kid and that fucking messes you up. You've been having it rough since the walkers showed up? Well I've been having it rough all my life. My mum sure as hell didn't count for nothing, at least not when my father beat the shit out of me and yeah, I bolted out of there as you did as soon as I could. After that I've been loosing people left and right and I've seen people, good people that didn't deserve to die first than myself go and I've questioned why it wasn't me too. But it's as you say, shit happens. Sometimes you can't just have it good for long and even when I knew that I still let you in and that got me nowhere either so yeah, I get ya."

"Daryl…" She began to say but he cut her off.

"I ain't mad at you so chill, we all gotta do what we gotta do, right? I was good while it lasted and now we move on."

Moving her hand to his, she intertwined her fingers with his. For a few seconds they remained like that and she just looked at their joined hands. His was much larger than hers and as her eyes drank on that image, her thumb ran lazy patterns over his skin. "It doesn't have to end."

With her eyes set on the blues of his, Rosita waited. She wasn't sure why she said that when she didn't even know what she wanted. She just knew that she didn't want to lose him.

"I gotta go, Maggie should be waiting by now."

"Okay." Nodding and letting go of his hand, Rosita looked away. It was what it was, maybe she should do as him and move on. She has pulled through worse than that so it was alright. Luckily, she had many ways to keep her mind busy and crawl out of her Daryl withdrawal soon enough. Besides, at least they got to talk and now that things were lay out in the open they didn't have to be at odds with each other and who knew what could happen along the road.

With that said, Daryl left and it wasn't until dusk started to creep in that she found the will to move from the spot she has been sitting in. She walked without purpose, circling the house so that she didn't have to pass by the bicycles and once she went by the trailers she headed straight into her room.

That's where she found him, sitting on her bed, elbows resting on his tights and face hidden behind the palm of his hands.

He just moved when the door closed, dropping his hands and getting to his feet.

Rosita just watched through warm eyes that felt too huge for her face and when he was near enough to reach for her cap and take it off, she remained frozen. She meant to ask what was he doing, but when he leaned into her and kissed her, everything slipped from her mind she just had to kiss him back and it was as if they never had stopped doing it.

Tilting her head to the side and parting a way for the kiss to deepen, Rosita sighed. She had just missed the way his lips felt against hers and how addicting the taste of his tongue in her mouth felt. It was like that, without stopping the kiss that she ended up against the door, his body pressing insistently to hers and her arms around his neck.

They kissed long and deep, with him swallowing all her breaths as if they were his own and in that moment, thinking that she wanted to give all that up felt ridiculous and senseless.

Feeling breathless and already delirious, Rosita broke from the kiss. "Daryl." She began to say but when his lips dragged down to the spot in her neck were her pulse was beating, she forgot what she was going to say and instead closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

They've been at it long enough to know what triggered each other and he knew what his tongue and teeth working on that spot did to her. So he did that, his hands sneaking between their bodies so he could unbutton her pants and slid his fingers right in.

He had to wrestle his way in but he got to where he wanted to be, which was right beneath her panties. Once there he cupped her and she moaned. "Spread those legs for me."

Breathing hard through her mouth, she tried to give him more room. He managed with what he had and since she was wet enough for him, one of his finger easily entered into her core. Lost in the moment, she sought for his lips and kissed him. The sensation was incredible and she wanted more, she probably asked for more and he complied.

He went at it for a while, his lean finger working her good as her blood boiled all through her body. It was as he kissed her back that she put her hands into motion by sliding her pants and underwear off the way.

As she did that, he added another finger and she hurried to take off his shirt. Because of that he only managed a few thrusts before pulling out. The rest of their clothes followed soon after as they refused to let go of their kissing, and when a naked Daryl lifted her high enough so that her legs could circle his hips, he entered her with a swift movement.

Gasping against his mouth, she held onto him. Everywhere where his flesh was touching her felt burning, and right between her legs where his erection was settled in felt scorching. She was done quick, he always did that to her and barely noticing how she was being banged against her door, she came. Her inner muscles closed in around him and that was it.

If it wasn't because he was holding her, she would have ended a pile of goo in the floor and if it wasn't because his lips were silencing her moans, she would have been heard all through the colony. But instead she ended up a pile of nothing in his arms, and still he kept going.

"I've missed this." She panted when she once again broke the kiss and looked into his face. He was fully concentrated on the task at hand and she felt entranced, but when he looked up and fixed his eyes on hers she had to swallow on dry.

"Yeah?"

"Mm hmm" She mumbled. "I've missed you." And it was true, because even though the sex was amazing with him and she couldn't remember ever someone making her feel in the verge of loosing it every single time they fucked, she has missed more that that, she has missed all of him.

To the way it felt to fall asleep with him pressing against her, to the way every morning he would grumble and complain about having to leave for his Sanctuary duties. She has missed his voice and his eyes and riding with his back pressed to hers and right to the way he smelled. She even missed his weird eating habits and the rare chuckle that would burst out of him whenever she called him out for it.

He owned her and he didn't even know, and even though that scared the hell out of her, it wasn't in her to push him away anymore.

"I don't know what you are doing to me." He admitted and tightening her legs around him so that he could go deeper, she hissed against his ear.

"Right now I just want to make you to cum inside of me." With that said he kissed her hard and kept thrusting until his rhythm became more insistent and his kiss plain erratic, that was how she knew he was cumming.

She took all he had to give and once he was finished, she dragged her lips to his chin, his cheek and even to his closed eyelids. Then she rested her forehead to his as he moved around an sat her on top of her dresser.

"Rosita-" He began to say.

"Shhh." She pecked his lips. "If you are not going to stay don't say anything." No, the moment was too good for them to ruin it with words.

She was well aware that neither one of them were smooth with words and the last thing she wanted was for the moment to get tainted. If his reason to go to her was to look for his own kind of closure, then why make a mess out of it by saying things that didn't matter.

She cared about him and in his own way he cared about her, that was all she needed to know in that moment. Even if nothing more than that night was in store for them.

Now, when she said that, Daryl chewed on his lips, she has seen him do that way too many times when he was thinking about something, and as his hands slid to the back of her head she wondered what was going to happen now. "And what if I want to stay?"

Blinking a couple of times, she tilted her head to the side. Was that doubt in his eyes? Was he expecting her to kick him out once more? For some reason that made her think on what he told her earlier on, about how he let her in for nothing and she felt her chest tighten.

She didn't want him to feel insecure but that was the way he was. On the outside he was tough because that was how he needed to be to get through and in a way that made them so much alike.

Pursing her lips and brushing his hair away from his face, Rosita sighed. "Well… then I guess you just kiss me."

Daryl nodded, and then without any more preambles, he kissed her.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I have to thank you for the reviews, I'm glad you are still reading. As for this chapter, it was something I quickly threw together after reading the spoilers for the next few episodes because damn it, if the show won't give me what I want I sure as hell will write it! Now, I took some liberties with th narrative of their past but nothing too grave. Other than that, enjoy!

XxXxXxX

Standing with her arms crossed over her chest and her chin tilted up so that she could take a good look at the scene unfolding in front of her, Rosita Espinosa watched as if hypnotized the panorama displaying outside her window, a manifest of shivering stars that covered the distant skies with a mystic gleam that was apt to entrance the toughest one.

Ever since the world turned, nights like that one were more often than not the rule and she could barely remember how it was to look up and being unable to see that, the sky a black canvas splattered with thousands of shimmering stars, all of them shinning so bright that together they illuminated all their surroundings; but if truth be told, she rarely took the time to stop for a minute to enjoy the sight and that night she wanted to take it all in.

It was stunning.

Taking in a deep breath she started to rub her arms with the palm of her hands, a futile attempt at providing some warmth. It was not much but she didn't even mind, after all she has been standing there for quite some time now, her chocolate brown eyes lost in the distance as the cold nightly breeze swirled around her and she kind of got used to it. But regardless of that yes, it was definitely a stunning sight and if it wasn't because in her bed she had a more interesting scenery to lay her eyes upon, she would probably stay all night long there, watching as the silence of the night embraced her.

But she was not going to do that and thinking that not only what she had in her bed was more interesting but by far more pleasant, she broke from her trance and turned around, leaving the window open and putting her feet in motion so that she could head that way.

That was how she walked to the bed, her eyes taking on the image of him and finding herself enthralled. He was laying on his stomach, apparently already dozing off, and because that was something he rarely did while she was still awake, she couldn't just look away.

Besides, corny as it could be, she liked looking at him when he wasn't aware. He didn't like it when she did it any other time than that because even when he would never admit it, he was very self-conscious and his mind could just not grasp the fact that she liked looking. But now she could and she sure as hell was going to look.

True, she has seen a lot of him lately, after all they had spent the last three days together and doing what they thrived to do the most, out on a run and taking on the walkers that would get in their way; but because they had been embarked on a mission that seemed to be doomed right from the beginning, they didn't even had the chance to enjoy one another as she would have liked. In fact, nothing that went on during their trip came off as she has wanted to, because instead of an easy getaway that would serve for both finding the already scarce gasoline all the communities needed and so that they could sneak from the monotony of their daily routines, what they got was a bogus mission that ended up incomplete.

Something that should have been so simple got complicated for then stupidest of reasons and as a result they lost a car and ended up walking back on foot for a whole day and a half, dragging twelve empty gas cans while it rained heavy on them. That was without mentioning the walkers and that they barely got any sleep. Now as she stood there she couldn't remember a run that ended up with her being so miserable as the one they just came from and she wondered why she wasn't in bed with him, sleeping all her aches away.

So yes, she has seen a lot of Daryl that week but not like that, shirtless, scrubbed clean off the mud and walker's gore and in her bed, the grey sweatpants he was wearing riding low on his hips. He appeared to be sleeping, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and his muscles relaxed. But much as she liked the view of his whole self, what her eyes found themselves unable to stop looking were the scars on his back.

A while back she asked him about them, almost sure that he was going to tell her how he got them somewhere along the way in the aftermatch of the world going to shit, maybe even during his time with the saviors, but when he casually told her that he got them because he pissed his old man she found herself lost of words. It took a while for her to digest it, but because he didn't seem eager to tell she didn't press it. After that the moment never seemed right and the question never rolled out of her tongue.

Without taking her eyes from him, she climbed on top of the bed and pressed herself to his back, her lips brushing his shoulder and then lower, right over one the scars. At the contact he stirred and she rolled to his side, tangling her feet with his and moving her head so that her forehead was touching his.

Laying there felt heavenly and she allowed the muscles of her back to relax against the soft mattress, and when one of his arms came around her waist to pull her closer she closed her eyes and sighed.

She was tired as hell, but even though she wanted nothing more than to doze off too, she also couldn't help but to muse about the fact that this was probably the first time they were both in her bed without wanting to rip the clothes off of their bodies. They had done that a lot lately, especially after they almost gave up on each other about three months ago. It was their common ground, how they connected, but she was also aware that feeling that raw hunger of having sex all the time had to dwindle down eventually and that night seemed as good as any other to turn a new leaf.

Maybe things started to change before that and she didn't even see it, after all they spent quite a few days together and alone and other than a few kisses she initiated as a way to lighten the sour mood he fell victim of when the car broke down on them, they didn't got too much physical. A touch here and there and that was it, nothing that lead to sex.

Then they got back to her place, snuck around so that no one could see them and after grabbing something quick to eat, they got themselves cleaned up. They took turns in the shower, and when she got out of hers he was dozing.

"Do you want to know something?" She asked, her eyes still closed and his breathing brushing against her face like a soft caress.

"What?" He said and because she now knew he wasn't sleeping she kept on. After all, tired as she was she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep so why not put her mind at ease with some matters.

"I don't remember my father."

"Lucky you." He said in one of his infamous growls. His words only motivated her to press on.

"He left never to come back when I was about six but I can't remember him from before either. Anyway, my mom, she was savage. I guess she had to be, she was a single mother of four and well, we were a handful." She chuckled as she remembered those days gone by, and she did while opening her eyes to find him staring at her. "I was the oldest one and I thought I was the big shit… that got me quite a few smacks because trust me, my mom had a loose hand and she wasn't afraid to use it. She would yell a 'you are a malcría, mija' which basically means that I was a mouthy little brat and I was. I had a bit of an attitude, I was sassy and I thought I owned the world and my mom… my mom would quickly get me off that cloud. She loved us, I don't want to give the wrong impression here, but Hispanic moms are like that, tough love they call it. But never, not even at her worst she would do something like this."

With that said, she moved a finger to his back and traced one of the scars. "What was this all about?"

Shrugging, he chewed on the inside of his lips. "My ol' man had a quick temper and little patience for my punk's ass. Got worse after my mum died and you know, even when I just tried to stay clear of him he got me good this one time. I think I was around fourteen and just going to school to get a couple of free meals a day and there was this teacher, the kind that think they can change things. Well, he got into my head that if I finished school I could land a good job that would take me out of that town and man, I believed his stupid ass. He got me studying and all that shit and when things with my ol' man were bad, he even let me crash at his garage. He had a wife that cooked like nothing I ever tasted in my life and I crashed there often. All until someone snitched it to my ol' man."

"He did this because you were being helped by a teacher?"

"Nah, he didn't give a rat's ass if I got helped or if I never made it back home for days, he did that because the teacher was black and no Dixon ever rolled with that."

"That is awful, Daryl." She couldn't even begin to imagine how that was for him. At fourteen all she wanted in life were bigger boobs. By then she was beginning to crush over older boys and in her mind that improvement would help her a lot. Never could she imagine at that age having her back whipped raw, let alone by the one person who was supposed to care and look out for you.

"Not gonna whine and moan about it now, but I couldn't leave the house for days and couldn't stand having anything touch my back. But that was life for me. Told you I never got it easy." As if what he just said was the most natural thing in the world, he rolled to his side and moved his fingers from her waist and straight under her shirt, letting his hand just rest over her breast. "Bastard must be rolling in his grave with me being here with you. You know, with you being Latina or whatever."

Doing a double take, she snorted. "What the fuck? My mom would feel offended by that."

"I ain't taking a jab at you. And your mom smacking you for being mouthy, tsk, I like what that mouth does." With that said he pressed his mouth to hers and unable to help it, she smiled.

"I bet you do." Oh, but she was sure that her mom would also roll in her grave if she ever knew the kind of things Daryl liked her to do on him with her mouth. That was if she was dead or even in a grave, truth was that she didn't even know. Not that it mattered now, so lifting her head a little so she could meet him halfway, she kissed him back.

They kissed without any hurries, taking their time and as his thumb ran circles over her already hardened nipple, she moved her own hand to his hair.

Shifting a little so that she could also be on her side and facing him, Rosita let the moment drag her with the possibilities at hand; true, they were kissing almost languidly, but as always, she knew she was going to end up wanting more and more he would give.

It was like that with them, giving into each other was their language and at least on her part, she didn't need much for getting into the mood with him. It was probably like that for him too because as if sensing her thoughts, Daryl shifted himself, hovering over her and accommodating his weight between her legs.

They kissed a while longer, tongues swirling around each other and her pulse accelerating, but before they could do more than what they were doing, a knock came to her door and they both stopped kissing and looked at the wooden barrier.

"Rosita, are you there?"

Frowning because that was Jesus and she couldn't think on a single reason why would he be knocking at her door so late, Rosita moved her eyes to Daryl. He was still staring at the door and it wasn't until she spoke that his attention changed back to her. "I thought no one saw us coming here."

"Why is pretty boy knocking on your door so late?" His tone came off as irritated and Rosita did the second double take of the night.

Then, blinking a couple of times and her lips distorting into a grin, she shook her head. Daryl wasn't looking thrilled at the interruption and even though he was pulling at her panties so that he could slide them off, he looked as if he wanted nothing more than go and answer the door to ask the man himself.

"Why, are you jealous?"

Did he even know that Jesus was into guys? It would be ridiculous if he was jealous and the feminist in her wanted to call him out for that retrograde way of looking at things, but an even bigger part of her felt both amused and yeah, kind of smitten.

Now, at her question, he didn't answer at first, instead he focused on getting her out of her underwear, and once they were out of the way he started to slide his sweatpants off. She helped him. "Should I be?"

Gasping when she felt how he swiped his erection between her folds only to pull it away before she could get a good feel, Rosita snorted. He was teasing her, using his hand to guide his cock over her clit, close to her entrance and then pushing just enough to make her feel the pressure, but apparently having no intention of going in.

"You don't have to be, I'm all yours. Just yours."

Swallowing hard, she felt and saw how his eyes moved to hers. What she just said was the closest she has ever come to revealing her feelings because yes, even when she tried not to, the truth was that she ended up falling for him. How could she not? In a world where he was the one making her feel alive, it was hard to keep herself emotionally detached and now it was what it was.

"Rosita?" Another knock.

"She's busy." Leaning forward, he caught her bottom lip between his teeth, pulling lightly and then running the tip of his tongue over the moist flesh.

Chocking on a snort, she pressed her hand to his mouth instead and hushed him. Was he crazy?

"Oh." Jesus said from the other side of the door and as if in cue, Daryl started to slowly push into her, stretching her as he only knew how to and making her bite hard on her lips as a way to prevent the moan that wanted to come out of her reach her friend's ear. "Maggie wanted to see you real quick… I'll tell her you can't… now."

Closing her eyes to compose herself, Rosita cleared her throat. "I'll be there… just give me a couple of minutes." And she said that because really, it wasn't normal for Maggie to call for her in the middle od the night so she guessed it had to be important.

"I won't be done with you in a couple of minutes." Daryl said darkly against her ear when he was all the way settled in her and the pressure made her shiver. Then he withdrew almost all the way out so that he could then slowly back in. The feeling was almost electrical and her whole skin felt alive with sensation. It seemed that her body was doomed to keep having the same reaction for him no matter what.

"I'll look for you." She said at last, proud that her voice came out okay. To that Jesus mumbled an okay and she hoped he was gone.

Sucking in a breath, she moved her hands so that she could touch as much of him as she could, and she just had to gasp as he kept slowly driving into her.

"Fuck." He groaned, his hands moving to her hips and pulling her even more into him.

Rosita threw her head back, loving the way she was being filled completely by him. Then, leaning forward and pressing to him, she searched for his lips and kissed him again. He reciprocated, his tongue caressing hers as he began to thrust into her with a quicker rhythm that prompted her to moan softly into the kiss.

From there things escalated quickly, he began to roll his hips against hers, her own hips shooting up to meet him half way and thus sending him all the way in into her, and as that happened he grabbed her right leg and placed it over his shoulder.

"This all mine too?" He asked into the kiss.

"Yes." Breaking away from his lips and looking into his eyes, Rosita opened her mouth to moan brokenly. This new angle was making him reach as deep as he could go and with every thrust, her pleasure continued to increase. The whole thing was overwhelming and with Daryl's next thrust, the pressure building inside her belly exploded and it escaped through her groin.

Daryl seemed to have sensed her release because without stopping his movements, he immediately covered her mouth with his once more, his tongue rolling against hers as he swallowed down her moans. Then groaning, holding her hips in place and throbbing warmly inside of her, he followed her soon after and while she still rode her release down, his moment came and it came hard.

Hissing against her mouth, the movements of his hips kept pushing his erection hard into her core as he spilled everything he had into her. By the time he pulled out, her breathing was back to normal but she was spent to the bone. Her limbs were even sore, but her aches were a good kind of ache now and so she breathed out contently as she felt her tights getting soaked with his cum.

Rolling back to his side, Daryl closed his eyes. "Now I'm fucking starving."

Humming, Rosita forced herself out of bed. "I'll tell you what, I'll clean up, see what is it that Maggie wants and then I'll bring something to eat." Maybe she could find something more substantial in the kitchen.

"So you are running after pretty boy after all." His tone didn't come off as bad as it did before and she was sure that he had it clear now that Jesus didn't matter when it came to them, but still, he threw the comment.

"Don't be silly." Kissing his mouth and then washing off, Rosita got dressed and walked out.

Her intention has been making it towards Maggie, but because she saw Jesus sitting in the maim house, a huge grin on his face while Enid giggled into a box he was holding, she stopped there.

"So what is it?" She asked while running a hand through her hair. In her haste she didn't even considered brushing it to look a bit more presentable and now she regretted it.

"Sorry about the interruption." Jesus said apologetically when he saw her. "Anyway, Maggie is with Hershel but I'll pass on the message real quick as you are obviously busy tonight. We went to see Georgie today and well, she got what you asked for."

Furrowing her brows, Rosita squinted her eyes. It took her a couple of seconds to get what was being said, but when she understood she gasped. "Are you serious?"

Walking to him and taking a look at what was inside the box, she almost squealed.

"Oh my God."

"Isn't it amazing. It's a girl and Georgie said she had more." Enid said, reaching into the box and taking in her hands what was inside.

Rosita just looked, thinking that months ago when she last saw the older woman and she asked the three of them what could she bring from her community as an act of good faith, she just said the first thing that came into her mind. She did it randomly and not really thinking that Georgie would get it, and when the others looked at her funny she just shrugged and said that Daryl wanted a dog.

And now it was there in Enid's arms. It was a puppy, she couldn't remember the last dog she ever saw.

"We've been taking care of it while you got here, but a minute longer and this young lady here was going to kidnap it."

Reaching for the puppy and taking it in her arms, Rosita laughed. "He's going to flip."

'So you had a chance to ask for anything for yourself and yet you asked for something for Daryl. If that isn't love I don't know what it is."

Taking a page out Tara's book, Rosita gave him the middle finger.

"Seriously?" He chuckled and Enid shrugged.

"Well I could stay her and chat all night long, but I won't. Thanks for taking care of her." With that said and forgetting all about grabbing something to eat, she put the dog back into the box and made it back into her room.

Now, she wasn't much of a dog person, but Daryl apparently was and ever since he once told her that he wanted to get one, the thought remained in the back of her mind and when the opportunity presented itself she grabbed it. Not that she has expected it to actually happen, that she asked for it was a simple random thing that turned out perfectly. Now it was her time to give him something, because when she mentioned that she wanted a bike he found one and gave it to her.

Once in her room, she found Daryl in her bed, dressed in the same sweatpants he had before and now he also had a shirt. He was just sitting there, eating straight out of a peanut butter jar and his hair already hidding half his face. When he saw her walking in he put the spoon into the jar and lifted his face to hers. "So what got their panties in a bunch now?"

'You won't believe this."

Walking to him, she put the box in his lap and waited for his reaction. For a little while, he just watched, and apparently when he realized what it was he looked up to her and smiled. It was one of the most genuine smiles she has ever seen out of him and she just had to smile with him. If she wouldn't have known what she felt for him she would have done it in that moment. "Is this for real?"

"Oh yes. And it's yours."

Chuckling, he took it out of the box and put it to his chest. "Hey there lil' fella." The dog, apparently more interested in sleeping cuddled against him and closed her eyes.

"I guess I'm the one who'll get jealous now."

With the smile still on his lips, he got to his feet and made it to her. "Where did you get it?"

Shrugging, she rolled her eyes. "I asked Georgie for it. It was no big deal."

Getting close enough so that he could kiss her, Daryl snorted. "What do you mean no big deal? This the best thing anyone has ever given me. It's maybe even the only thing I've been given."

Lifting her hand so that she could rest it to his cheek, Rosita pulled him back into her lips and kissed him. She kissed him slow, her tongue touching his and then letting him take control of it, and as they kissed it came into her mind that in an ideal world she would tell him right there and then that she loved him and he would answer with a me too. But reality had a way of cheapening things and she didn't think it was appropriate in that moment.

After getting to know about his background, she wasn't sure if an admission of that magnitude would freak him out because she doubted anyone has ever told him that and she didn't want to ruin the moment.

Besides sometimes it wasn't necessary to say certain things so that another would know, sometimes people just knew. Actions spoke louder than words.

'You really something else, Rosita." He said once the kiss ended and she smiled.

No, sometimes you didn't have to say it, sometimes you just knew….


	6. Chapter 6

"What does it says?"

Letting a breath she didn't even know she was holding come out of her mouth forcibly, the younger of the two dark haired women bent down at the waist and placed the palm of her hands to her knees. That way, with her eyes set on the simplicity of the white titled floor under her feet and her heart finally slowing down its beating, she snorted in relief. "It's a negative."

"Well, shit. That was definitely not what I was expecting."

Straightening her back so that she could take a look at her friend, Rosita pouted her lips. Tara looked kind of disappointed but because she apparently seemed more interested in chewing her sour candies she didn't even give it a second thought. "It is definitely what I was hoping for."

With that said she arched an eyebrow and moving the chocolate orbs of her eyes to the plastic stick that put an end to her worries, she nodded. Yes, it was definitely what she had hoped for because last thing she needed in her life in that moment was to get pregnant.

Oh but she did get one hell of a scare. That was why she has dragged Tara back to Hilltop while they were supposed to be at the bridge, because she was freaking out and as annoying as the other woman could get at times, the support could come handy. But now that the possibility of a pregnancy was discarded, she felt way better and the whole thing even seemed ridiculous.

True, she was late but not by much, and with everything that has been going on with the bridge, what happened to Aaron, the damn Saviors and Daryl being pissed about it all, it wasn't so abnormal that her period got a bit messed up. Maybe Daryl's sour mood as of late rubbed off on her and affected her somehow, what would she know.

The only thing she knew was that she couldn't allow more than a scare to happen, and to prevent something similar but with different results, she was going out on a run first thing in the morning so that she could find something better than what she was using. Damn pills were now not good enough to keep her at ease because if you came to think about it, they were probably expired, which meant she needed something else. She didn't know what yet, but something had to be done.

"You know…" Tara began to say, then she paused for a second so that she could get a new bite of her candy before continuing on. "Having a baby shouldn't be so bad, I mean you and Daryl are steady now and well, we need to repopulate. It's your duty to society."

Sitting down on the edge of the tub and elbowing Tara lightly, Rosita shrugged. "Tell you what, I will repopulate just when you do the same."

"Just so you know, that's totally not fair. How the hell am I supposed to repopulate? I wouldn't even know how to be with a guy. Do they run on batteries, do I have to feed them often to get them going?" She said in amusement before laughing about it and because she was feeling good now that she knew she was not pregnant, Rosita laughed too. "Maybe if Jesus shaved, him and I could get it going, I mean he's just as pretty as a girl but you know, with a penis… thing that's not bad if you want to have babies but they are not really my thing."

"Stop it." Shaking her head and sending a sideway glance to the woman at her side, Rosita chuckled. Sometimes Tara talked too much and more often than not she would get a bit silly, at least that was what Daryl said every time he got to witness both of them together. But even when he was right, she would sometimes humor her friend and tag along just to see the way Daryl would shake his head at their nonsense or how he would sometimes even blush while telling them to shut up. It was probably a different side of both Tara and her than the ones he was used to, but truth was that now that they were living the closest to peace they have lived in such a long time, almost everybody dropped the chip on their shoulder and were now getting to reveal a more laid back side of them.

It was interesting, and even if he wasn't even aware of it, that included him.

"No but seriously, you really don't want to have kids?"

Sighing and rolling her eyes, she considered it. "I don't know. I mean, I'm not against the idea of it eventually… I guess, but at the same time I would rather not. This is a fucked up world to be bringing kids into." There was that and there was also the fact that she knew she would make a lousy mother. She had more issues than Vogue and besides, kids were definitely not her forte. Her nephew has definitely tested her patience and came up winning and even though she has loved him to death, she wouldn't know how to deal with one of her own. "Also I don't even know what would Daryl think about it."

They had never talked about that or any other aspect of their relationship but since they were in such a good place at the moment, she didn't want to jinx it. She still believed that bad things happened when you let your guard down and she didn't want to get too comfortable as to be talking about reproducing. Besides they were just letting things flow while enjoying them and things were not going bad. There was no point in pushing things even more, especially now that Daryl officially just abandoned the sinking ship of The Sanctuary and moved in with her.

So yes, they were still a work in progress as they were learning how to coexist but she believed they were doing alright. The only rule between them was that they wouldn't throttle each other and even that was an unspoken rule. They just gave each other their space and that was it. Overall she was okay with their current pace and Daryl, he was just being great. She even came to enjoy his wry humor, a side she was just discovering about him and even when she would never admit it, she also liked how he got a kick out of riling her up when it came to the dog and what it could do and not do when inside their bedroom or their tent if they stayed at camp overnight.

All in all, she was having it good; so good that she even buried in the back of her head the nagging feeling that things would go wrong eventually. Sometimes the sensation wanted to resurface, but she has managed to let it fade away almost into nothingness. But still…

"He loves kids, you've seen how he is with Judith and Hershel."

Taken out of her thoughts, Rosita sighed and got to her feet. "Yeah, that' because children are great when they are not yours."

"Point taken."

Throwing the pregnancy test away and then washing her hands, Rosita opened the door with the intention of stepping out. "Let's get back to camp. Last time I left Daryl unsupervised for too long he ended up in a fight with one of those Saviors assholes."

With that said, she and Tara made their way back to the camp. They went with the calm of those who lack the desire to reach their destination. Things over there were tense and even though she has never been one to back away when things got rough, she had no desire for it that day. No, that day she was feeling good, maybe even a little perky and she was thinking that perhaps later on she and Daryl could sneak out and spend some alone time. With everything that was going on he definitely needed to just relax and she knew just how to improve his morose mood.

There has been one particular thing she did once that by judging by his reaction, he just loved. It has been after a random conversation about her life before where he ended up saying that he would have liked seeing her all dressed up and well, not long after he came back to her to find her just as she did whenever she would go out on the weekends before. Tight dress, push-up bra, lips colored a deep passion red, hair on point and obviously, high heels. It has been a drag to get all that she needed and she had to go far on her runs to find them, especially when it came to shoes and make up. But she did alright even if it felt a bit weird and even to that day, she could feel a liquid warm sensation settling on her groin just by remembering the feral glint on his eyes and they way his hands and lips made her feel like she was about to auto combust with the intensity of everything he did to her.

Maybe that night she could put on that dress and let him do to her as he pleased again; she knew he would like it and she wouldn't mind at all. But because life had a vicious way or ruining your plans, especially the good ones, just when they got to the camp all hell started to break loose.

It happened all so fast that it wasn't until later on, when she was able to sit down and digest what just went on that the reality of it all hit her. But while it happened it felt more like an out of body experience where she was just a simple spectator that got to observe how they got there to be told there was a massive herd coming their way and then the bridge was gone and Rick was dead.

It was almost incomprehensible because if there has been something, anything she truly believed in, it was on Rick Grimes and that he was always going to be around. He was the pillar of all the communities, he was their rock, the foundation of everything they have achieved and now he was just gone.

Blinking her eyes rapidly and realizing that she was probably in shock, she looked around and found herself sitting on the dirt, her limbs heavy as stones and Eugene crouching by her. He had a hand to her shoulder and when she moved her face towards him she saw that he was silently crying.

He wasn't the only one, everyone around her seemed to be either in shock or mourning and it took her quite some time to realize that her own face was damp with tears. What she wasn't sure was if she was crying too or if the smoke and heavy smell of burning flesh was making her eyes leak, but whatever it was it didn't matter. The only thing she was entirely sure was that by then Michonne has stopped calling for Rick and yelling at Maggie and Carol to let go of her and was now sobbing while being rocked in comfort.

She was watching it all, her eyes drinking it but her mind rejecting it. It just all felt so surreal that she didn't know what to do or where to go. Part of her wanted to go to Michonne but her muscles were frozen on the spot and quite honestly, she wouldn't know what to say. She felt lost, she wasn't even sure what was happening and the notion that she hasn't felt anything similar since Negan killed Abraham and Glen scared the hell out of her.

It was just that things like what happened were not supposed to occur, not when they were supposed to be at their best, when they were supposed to be thriving instead of seeing it all disappear into smoke and ashes.

"Where's Daryl?" She asked to no one in particular while her eyes kept scanning her surroundings. Little by little her mind was clearing up and one of the first thing she was able to notice was that he wasn't there.

"He's not here, that's why after realizing his notorious absence I deemed it imperative to come and offer you what little comfort I could."

Staring at him as if he just grew a second head, Rosita said nothing, and as if thinking that she was mad Eugene took his hand away and mumbled an apology. But she wasn't mad, she was just having a hard time processing everything.

Once Eugene was gone, Rosita wiped her face and got to her feet. She has seen Daryl right before the explosion and as if in a dream she went to the spot he has been at. Only that she didn't find him. She came back to where everyone were at and neither was he there.

"Have you seen Daryl?" Her voice came out low and raspy and when Jesus faced her, she saw that he was still trying to grasp it all too. She knew because he was pale as a ghost and his eyes huge as plates.

"I… saw him back there… what the hell just happened?" Running a hand over his head and then dragging it to his mouth, he asked.

"I don't know." All she knew was that she needed to find Daryl. Even when everything was in a haze in her head, she was well aware that Rick was a brother to him and he had to be devastated so she didn't want him out there on his own. But after asking the man known as Jesus she kept looking around and nothing.

Now, she wasn't sure if he got to camp on his bike, but if he did then he already left because the bike wasn't there either. She looked into the tents, she got as close as she could to the bridge and then she came back to the others to get the same result, nada.

Thinking that he was probably at Hilltop she went there, and when she found that he was nowhere to be found at the Colony either she went to Alexandria. She even passed by The Sanctuary and radioed Oceanside and The Kingdom and Daryl was in none of those places. By nightfall she felt anxious as hell and sitting outside the gates of The Hilltop, the dog in her lap and her mind racing, she felt like crying.

The impotence of being there and having her hands tied was killing her. She has never been good at waiting but as it seemed, there was nothing else she could do. She already checked everywhere and even went out there looking and all that has been in vain.

Tugging compulsively at the long sleeve of the shirt she was wearing, she kept waiting and worrying because she didn't know what else to do. And yes, part of her knew that he was probably alright and that he just wanted to process everything on his own which was understandable, but at the same time there was another part of her brain, a much louder and insistent part that wanted her to believe that there was a possibility that he has been at the bridge with Rick.

She knew that was almost impossible because she has seen him before the explosion but what if it happened? What if he believed he could save Rick and somehow got there. He could have used the bike... and if it wasn't the explosion maybe a walker got him, there has been so many of them that he could have been easily swept.

Cradling her face into her hands, a choked sob rocked her body. Thing was that the mind was a funny thing when in distress, and as she sat there waiting, it played with all kinds of possibilities that ranged from the most ridiculous to the most macabre and none of them were any good to her peace of mind. If it wasn't because it was already dark, she would go back out to keep looking.

"Come on Daryl." She mumbled under her breath after a couple more hours just sitting there waiting. Enid has come out a while ago and just sat there with her, her fingers buried into the fur of Daryl's dog and her stare lost. But by then the girl was gone along with the dog and she was on her own, not only swallowing down the hard pill of Rick's death, but wondering where the hell was Daryl.

So yes, she was worried about his well being, both physically and mentally and she would give anything just to know that he was fine. But as time kept passing and there was no sign of him, that worry started to mingle with some anger because she knew that he was probably fine and her mind was just playing tricks with her about the possibility that he was injured or worse, dead. More likely than not he was okay, at least uninjured, he just plain and simple didn't care enough to let her know that her know he wasn't coming back that night.

Maybe he didn't plan on ever coming back and wouldn't that prove that everything she was trying to put in the back of her mind ended up being true, that just when things were at their best they would take a dip into the worse?

It definitely ended that way for Michonne and trying to erase the woman's broken sobs as she called for Rick from her mind, she closed her eyes and tried to remember a much happier sound from the woman. It has been a little over two months by then, when she and Daryl went to Alexandria and ended up at hers and Rick's place. Somehow, Daryl ended up sitting at the floor so that Judith could play at brushing his hair and do a failed attempt of a pony tail. They had all laughed, Michonne being the loudest one and that was definitely a better sound to get stuck in her head.

That has been a good day, for a couple of hours they just sat there and it has been so easy to forget everything that was wrong in the world, everything that has been lost. It has also been nice to get to see how smoothly it was for Daryl to fit in with what he considered his family and she remember that deep sense of contentment over the fact that he gave her the chance of being part of it; even if it meant some teasing from Rick and Michonne because apparently, they couldn't get why she was with him.

Rick even jokingly told her she should go to him if Daryl ever treat her wrong because he would whoop his ass and the raspy laugh that came out of Daryl as he called the other man an asshole made herself laugh as well.

Now all that was gone. Rick, Michonne's laugh and even Daryl.

Feeling her chest heavy with a suppressed sorrow she wanted to keep in, she cleared her throat and wondered what was the point on being there. If he showed up he was going to do it whether she was there or not, and it was more than clear that if he wasn't coming, she staying there wasn't going to change that. But still, she waited until the night turned into early hours of the morning, and just when she was sure that she couldn't keep chastising herself no more and should instead go into her room and cry herself to sleep as she felt like doing, she heard it.

It was faint at first and in case it was all in her mind, she held her breath and waited, and the more she waited the louder it got.

Feeling her heart hammering into her chest so hard that she was sure her ribcage was going to end up fractured, she got up on her feet and bit hard on her lips. It didn't make much sense, but it felt as if time slowed down to a crawl as she tried to take a good look. It was hard because it was still kind of dark, but then she did see it, the bike and what she assumed was him getting closer and closer.

By the time he parked the bike and got down all trace of being angry faded away and she ran to him and clung to his neck. His own arms came to circle around her and he held her tight.

She said nothing and neither did he, they just stood there, holding onto one another, her face buried into his neck while barely standing on the tip of her boots. He smelt like smoke and cigarettes but he also smelled of him. His scent, a trace that was so his was faint but it still gave her some kind of solace because he was there, finally tangible.

Pulling away from him she moved one of her hands to the nape of his neck and looked at him in the eye. He looked worse than devastated and she was sure that he was chewing on his lips as a way to stop himself from crying. That right there made her heart skip a beat to then start beating with renewed force and she had to use her free hand to wipe her eyes as she didn't want start crying herself.

Lowering her eyes so that she could take a look at the rest of him, she noticed that he also looked as if he has been rolling on the dirt and she wondered what has he been doing. At least he seemed unhurt and in one piece so she was going to take what she got.

"Come on, let's get you inside."

Taking him by the hand she guided him straight into their place, and when she said they should get him off his muddy clothes, he didn't complain. He just didn't say anything and that was how she got him into the shower, there was still some hot water left and they used it to scrub him clean. From his hair and his face to the dirt on his nails and once again she wondered about where he has been and doing what.

But she didn't ask, she didn't even say a thing. Maybe it was wrong but they had never been the kind who talked about the really important stuff. Besides there were moments when words were unnecessary and unwanted, sometimes what the beaten needed wasn't someone to cheer them up with empty words, but someone who could sit with them in silence and just be there.

Sometimes talk was cheap and actions expensive, that was why she was doing everything she could to make him comfortable, to make him know that she cared. She even went and prepared something quick that they both could eat once the shower was done and he was dressed and warm inside the bedroom. And because she hasn't eaten anything herself she killed two birds with a stone.

The only problem was that he wasn't eating, he took a bite and that was it. Now the sandwich hung from his hand as he just sat there looking at it. She noticed all that and while trying to find the words to ask what was wrong with the food, he tilted his head towards her and just stared. He seemed more composed now but his eyes spoke volumes and she felt for him. But before she could say anything, he spoke first.

"Come here."

Getting up from her chair, she did as he asked and went to him, and once in front of him she did the same movement that started it all, she straddled him. Sure, the intentions were not the same but it still felt like déjà vu. First time she did it on a wild impulse, now she was doing it because she wanted to feel him close, to feel the comfort of the warmth of his body as hers molded to him. It did bring her some comfort and much like she did when he first showed up, she buried her face into the crook of his neck and inhaled from his scent. Then, as his hand came to rest on the back of her head and the other to her lower back, she couldn't help but to think about everything that went on that day.

That day had defeated them, not just Rick but all of them, because truth was that without him nothing would be the same. A world without Rick didn't even make sense and as that hit her, she tightened her hold of him and closed her eyes.

"I'm going back out there." He said into her hair and she automatically pulled away to look at his face. His eyes held the same beaten dullness as before and as she tried to register what he meant by that, she found no expression on his face.

"You're leaving?"

Nodding, he twisted his mouth but he kept his eyes on hers and she had to blink a couple of times. She didn't know how, but she was somehow sure that if he went away it was to never come back. She just knew it and not only that, she felt it in her gut like a sharp stab.

"Why?"

Taking in a shaky breath, he looked away. He probably did it to compose himself and when he thought he could say what he had to say, he spoke. "I'm gonna look for him. I know I'll probably won't find anything but I've given up on people I thought were lost forever just to find out they weren't. I left them for dead when I could've done something and I won't do it again, not with him."

Moving her hands down until they could rest over his chest, Rosita nodded. She could understand what he was saying and part of her could roll with it, but at the same time she didn't want him to go. Not on his own, not while he was still obviously in the process of grieving someone who meant so much for him.

She knew how it was to embark in a fruitless journey while mourning and Daryl was so much like her that she knew that without anger fueling that need to get things done, he was just going to retreat into himself while gone and she didn't want that for him. But also because he was so much like her, she knew that he was stubborn and it would take more than someone telling him that what he wanted to do was pointless so she didn't know what to do.

It was a tricky situation where she couldn't tell him that Rick was dead and there was nothing left to find, but she couldn't tell him either to let things be and that things were going to be just fine because that was simply not true. The way she saw it, saying whichever of those things were not going to help. It was a no-win situation for her.

"Daryl… We just lost Rick, we can't lose you too. We all need you now, more than ever." And maybe she was exaggerating, hell she has been overreacting since before the explosion, first with the pregnancy test and then when she couldn't find Daryl, but she really believed that Daryl walking out there to look for something he may never find could end up being another lost because he just wasn't to search for a couple of days to come back, she knew it.

"No you don't. You've got Michonne and Maggie…"

"And what about me." She asked between clenched teeth before he could go on because he wasn't getting it. Maybe she was being an egoist jerk but she wasn't so much preoccupied about the fate of the communities without Daryl. True, he was a great asset but what she really wanted to prevent was she losing him, the man, the lover and companion. "I need you."

Lifting a hand to her face, he pierced her with his eyes while allowing his thumb to run slowly down her cheek and then over her lips. It was a tender caress he has never done before and she had to close her eyes to prevent them from letting her tears fall. She wasn't going to cry, especially not if he was leaving her and it felt so much like he was doing just that.

True, once he was gone she was going to do it, but in front of him she couldn't. If she just allowed a single tear to drop she knew she would end up begging him to stay and that would be pathetic in her book. But that was what she felt like doing right there so maybe she was going to make a mess out of everything after all.

"You don't need me. You don't need shit from anyone, you are strong and smart and you have what's needed to survive in this world. Besides there are more than a handful assholes out there ready to fill my boots in case you need it. I've seen how they look at you, I ain't blind."

Chuckling bitterly and opening her eyes, she felt the first tear fall. She wiped it off angrily with the back of her hand. "So that's it, you just want me to go to one of those other men and pretend this didn't happen? It doesn't work like that, I don't want… I don't care about any of them, I care about you. Jesus Daryl, are you really that dense? I love you, just you."

His hand was still on her face and his eyes still locked on her eyes. "Well maybe you shouldn't."

That did it, as soon as he said that she forgot about how he was grieving over a man he considered his brother and got angry. She just didn't get why he had to be such a jerk so she pushed herself away from him and poked a finger to his chest. "You know what, you are right, I shouldn't."

She said that in an angry hiss and swirling on her feet to get away, she walked a couple of steps towards the door. Her intentions had been to go out, she wasn't sure where but she guessed Tara would take her in. It would be a first time she went to her friend in the state she was in because she was sure that as soon as she crossed that door she was going to cry, but if you couldn't go to your friend's in hard times what was the point in having them as friends?

But before she could even reach the doorknob she felt his hand on her shoulder making her turn to him.

"Don't touch me." She slapped his hand away, not because she didn't want him to touch her but because her eyes were already full on unshed tears and she didn't want him to see her like that. But it was too late, all her pent up emotions finally got the best of her and she was crying, for Rick, because he was leaving and because she has been just too stupid as to fall for him and think that would be enough.

She has known since the beginning that one way or another things would end up taking a turn for the worse and here it was; now because she didn't want to listen to her gut she was in that situation.

Now, not listening to what he just said, Daryl pulled her to him and circled her in his arms, she tried to wriggle herself out of his hold but he wasn't giving her chance so she just cried there, hating herself for it.

"I'm sorry okay." He said after a while, when she was a bit calmer and if anything, that made her feel worse. By then he has somehow dragged her from the door and they were now sitting over the bed, her head to his chest and her legs over his thighs.

Chewing on the nail of her thumb, Rosita closed her eyes. She has stopped crying but her eyelashes felt moist and she fought the urge of running the back of her hand against them. "Is that what you want me to do? To go out there to some random guy and forget about you?"

Clearing his throat and resting his chin on top of her head, he replied. "You know that ain't what I want."

"Then why did you say that?"

He offered no explanation so shifting her position so that she could look him in the eye, she went on.

"Look, I know you are having a rough time with everything that went on, but you don't get to push me away and expect me to be okay with it. I can't let you do that."

"You'll be better off if I'm gone. Rosita… I'm no good to anyone, I couldn't even save him and I could have, I was with him, I was… and I let him go alone. He wanted to lead the heard away from the bridge and I let him go on his own."

After saying that he covered his face with his hands and began to cry.

For a second, she was without words but then, much as he did with her she held him and let him cry. He did that for a while, and as it happened she could feel her own tears flowing. It was only when she felt him getting a bit more composed that she removed his hands from his face and wiped his tears. She also kissed his closed eyelids, his cheek and lightly his lips as she started to tell him that it hadn't been his fault.

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't. The way I see it, Rick chose to do what he did, and he did it to save us." She has been there, and as far as she knew Rick blew up the bridge to prevent the herd to reach them. It would have been a bloodbath if that herd would have gotten to cross and Rick decided to sacrifice himself for them. "If you would have been with him it would have probably been the two of you dead, but it wasn't like that and you are here. So don't let that sacrifice be in vain."

"Should've been just me."

Dragging her hand to his forehead, she brushed his hair back. "Is that how little you care of me? I wouldn't take it if something happened to you."

"I do care. I'm just messed up."

Kissing the corner of his lips, she said something he has said to her when she told him the same thing, that she was messed up. "Aren't we all?"

Cradling her face in his hands, Daryl just looked at her. She has always gone weak by the way those piercing eyes would dig into her own, even before their affair began. There has always been something about him that drew her in and it was probably that, the intensity of those eyes. There was also they way his imposing aura called to hers and how whenever he was close she gravitated towards him, the thing was that now that she got to know him like she did, she wasn't prepared to let go, not if there was a chance for them.

"Let me go with you. Whatever it is you need to do or wherever you need to go, I want to go too. Just you and me."

Leaning forward, he kissed her. She wasn't sure what that meant but she kissed him back, and if it happened that this was going to be their last kiss then she better make it a good one. So she kissed him with everything she had, savoring every moment and engraving in her mind everything about it. From the taste of him to the way his tongue always looked for overpowering hers to the way his lips felt against her own, and when he pulled a bit away she buried her fingers into the silkiness of his hair and remained close, so close that she could feel his breathing brushing against her face.

"Just me and you? What about the dog?" He asked against her lips before kissing her again, but this time just placing a soft peck on her lips.

Smiling because he didn't just blurt out a 'hell no, you're staying', at least not yet, she shrugged. "The dog too."

"You really want to come?"

"Yes."

Breathing in, he sucked his lips into his mouth and chew on them a bit before leaving them be. "What you said earlier on, you know I do too, right?"

"When I said that I loved you even though you are a freaking jerk?"

A snort escaped him and despite everything, she smiled. "Well I don't remember it quite like that but uh huh."

Nodding, she kissed him softly. She was sure that it has taken a lot of effort just for him to say that so she didn't want to make a fuss out of it. Was she happy that he kind of said it? Hell yeah, but it was also true that the weight of Rick being gone was too heavy for either one to get all sappy about it. "I know. So are we leaving just now or can we get some sleep first?"

"Sleep first, and then you go and find my dog."

Kissing him again until she somehow ended up on top of him while he lay on his back, she hummed. His hands were underneath her shirt and she was back to straddling him, but instead of pushing things to go further, she pulled from the kiss and just rested there against him. She remained a while like that, their breathing on sync as his fingers ran circles against her back. "Then it's a deal." With that said she closed her eyes and fell asleep…


	7. Chapter 7

"Daryl…"

Realizing that her tone didn't come off as the warning she has meant but as a strangled breath torn from the deepest part of her being, Rosita closed her eyes and tried to gather herself to try and say it again, this time maybe with more impetus and definitely finishing her sentence. But before she could even begin to form the words in her head, his mouth descended into hers so that he could capture her lips into a searing kiss and she had no choice but to breathe into the moment while trying to decide if what she meant to voice out was really important.

Sure, she was going to tell him to stop, but the truth was that as he kissed her with everything that he had, she couldn't form any kind of coherent thought and all trace of rational thinking just disintegrated before it could even shape up.

It was as is she was doomed to forever fall prey to the way he kissed her and touched her, and that no matter whatever justification she could have not to give into him, her body would never listen to her reasoning and her words would die before rolling out of her tongue. That was how that night she ended like that, spellbound to him, because as soon as she woke up to the feeling of his lips nibbling at the tender spot right below her ear and then traveling down her neck, her body surrendered to his and her mind lost the battle before it even began.

She didn't even make a protest when he rolled her pants along with her underwear down her hips and out of the way, and it wasn't until he got her completely naked that she made a failed attempt of telling him to wait. But then, as he parted her lips with his tongue to slide in, her judgement got compromised and now she wanted nothing more than to kiss him back with the same hunger that he had and that was it.

Resigned to her fate, she angled her face into his left hand, because as he kissed her, that one had crawled up to her face and was now holding her in place, four of his fingers burying into her hair and his thumb tracing random patterns against her cheek.

It was an old dance they had danced many times before, but it was one she was destined to repeat over and over again without getting tired of it. Oh but that night she was well aware that she shouldn't give in so easily, and not because she didn't want to but because she plain and simple ran out of anticonceptive pills and according to her mind's calendar, she was around the time where she should keep his dick anywhere but inside of her.

He knew it, she has told him so as recently as the night before when he came into the tent a bit touchy friendly and she thought he understood. Sure, back to the night before when she told him he has said that he could pull out and that right there should have been an indicator, but because she wanted to play it safe without leaving him high and dry, she ended up giving him the blow job of his life and swallowing everything he had to give.

He had liked it, of that she was sure, and because he has liked it so she has hoped that what she did could at least keep satisfied for a couple more days, until she stopped ovulating or until she could go to Siddiq in Alexandria so that he could put something in her that would be more effective than the pills or the rhythm method.

But apparently, something that Daryl couldn't do was wait and something she couldn't do was say no.

Sighing into the kiss, she felt him move from his place at her side so he could roll over her and she took the moment to let her hands move to his shoulders, sliding slowly down the ripple of his muscles and then down to his sides so that she could rest them to his hips. It was as she did that when she noticed that the bastard was already naked. He has come to her fully aware of what he was going to do, and apparently fully aware that she was going to succumb.

She always did, he had that power over her and in that moment nothing seemed to matter more than to give herself completely to him regardless the consequences. The previous night had been all about him and she really didn't mind, but it has left her craving for more and right there, the ache for him was so bad that she couldn't even think straight. That was why before her mind could start protesting again she pulled him closer and kissed him deeper, wishing he would be between her legs so that she could feel all of him instead of just having his erection pushing insistently against her thigh.

But even though he wasn't exactly where she wanted him to be, what he was doing was enough to send her mind straight into the gutter. With his kiss he was stealing her every breath as his own and the touch of his fingers on her skin felt like fire.

 _True, his touch was lacking the urgency of other times, but it felt as if the light caress was burning her hypersensitive skin with their maddening touch and as his fingerers traveled from her naked thigh to her hip and then a little bit further up, she had to bite on his lips to prevent a strangled moan to escape her. It was amazing how he always managed to do that, how he has managed to master her skin with just a touch of his expert digits running through her ribcage and everywhere her exposed skin would allow it._

 _But, as good as all that felt, she needed to force her mind to get a grip. "Daryl," She began to say as she moved her mouth from his. "You know I'm not on anything."_

 _"Yeah I know." He answered back, his lips tracing a path from the corner of her lips to her throat._

"If you keep it up I won't want you to stop." _She mumbled, throwing her head back against the comforter as his teeth and tongue kept teasingly nipping and lapping that special spot below her jaw that she loved so much to be treated, and while he worried her throat with his mouth his fingers kept working their sorcery on her flesh, squeezing her breast in his palm as her boiling blood flushed her skin._

He didn't reply to that, he just allowed his hand to _slip between her legs, running smoothly all the way up until two expert digits found the liquid heat that was making her judgment to be impaired._

' _Oh..." She purred as she licked her lips, her legs automatically separating so he could explore with care, parting her and feeling her at will. He knew exactly how to touch her to make her squirm, he knew where to rub, he knew the right rhythm and pressure to put on her and as the momentum was staring to build in the pit of her stomach a lone finger slipped in, making her moan out loud at the sweet intrusion._

As it always happened when he touched her, the finger went all the way in without any resistance, getting swallowed into her wet velvety core and making her tremble against him. _Aching, swollen and with every fiber of her being vibrating, she threw one of her arms above her head and allowed sensation to take over, her eyes closed and her other hand encouraging him to kiss her. Then when he stopped what he was doing to accommodate himself right between her legs, she let him._

"I'll cum outside." He hissed against her lips, his hips darting forward so his hardness could grind against her sex. As a response she thrusted her hips against him, her lips moving down his jaw until she started to kiss a path straight to his shoulders. Then, before she could even blink her eyes open, he was sliding into her. "And if that doesn't work then it doesn't."

Opening her mouth to say something to that last statement but managing only to gasp softly when she felt him settle all the way in, she spread her legs a bit more to give him more room, and when he retreated almost all the way out to then go back in, she clung to his shoulders. "What?" She asked finally, tilting her face towards his so that she could look at him in the eye.

Repeating the motion of pulling out and then back in, he kissed her mouth briefly. "I mean it doesn't have to be so bad if it happens."

Snorting at the fact that he hadn't stopped thrusting into her as if what he was saying was nothing of importance, she kept her eyes on his. "Are we really having this talk now?"

Because seriously, if there was something she was sure in this life, it was that no serious talking should be done while turned on, especially when in the middle of the act itself and with his cock so deep into her that one couldn't tell them apart. And what he was implying was big talk, it wasn't something to be taken lightly because it was about the possibility of her getting pregnant.

Holding still into her and the full intensity of his blue eyes focused on her own brown orbs, he pushed the inside of his lips with his tongue. "I ain't saying we gotta look for it… just that if it happens it happens."

"Okay…" She breathed out, not sure of it was an affirmation or a question. But in that moment she didn't have it in her to muse about that possibility of what he was saying. "You still pulling out you know?"

"Mm hmm." Humming, he rotated his hips against her. Rosita just looked at him, he was refusing to drop the eye game and the intensity of them digging deep into hers was almost hypnotic. It felt obscene, even more personal than the way he was moving against her and into her.

And then she wasn't dropping her eyes either which made things feel even more intense. But it was just that she couldn't look away and for a couple of seconds she got lost into the deepness of his blue eyes and went back in time to remind herself how they got there, to that precise moment.

They had gone through quite a lot to get there, specifically after the death of Rick and even to that day, a mixture of sadness and regret would hit her when thinking about how she almost lost Daryl during the aftermatch of it all, how she almost gave up on him.

Those had been rough times, but it has been that even when she left everything behind to follow him in his quest, he did nothing but to make her feel left out. She would wake up to find him gone, when he would humor her and bring her along he would basically act as if he wanted her anywhere but there with him and the more she tried to give him time and even space, the more she would feel him slipping through her fingers.

He wouldn't listen when she tried to reach to him and more often than not, when he didn't show up at camp she would wander through the woods to find him sitting by the bridge. He would take the dog though and that has been frustrating as hell. For more than four weeks she has been patient and understanding but well, those were two traits she still hasn't mastered and one night she got feed up and asked him why the fuck he wouldn't just ask her to leave.

Those had been her exacts words and then she proceeded to get everything off her chest. Maybe she has been a bit intense, but she just needed him to see her, to understand that she was there for him but that she needed him to meet her half way. He hadn't seem to get it even as she told him and if she didn't walk out on him that night it has been because the look in his eyes told her that he has been expecting her to leave sooner rather than later, that it was no surprise to him that she would want to bail out and that got to her.

It shook her up because she has been ready to leave. She has been so pissed off at how withdrawn and distant he acted with her that she forgot that if she went with him in the first place it was to prevent him from loosing himself out there and if she walked out, he was going to do just that. He has been halfway through already.

But she has taken a breath and stayed, she made him see that she wasn't going anywhere whether he liked it or not and well, to give him credit he has been trying ever since. The change came gradually, he talked more with her, he included her in his whereabouts and on the occasions where he needed time on his own he would tell her instead of disappearing. He even rode with her to The Hilltop the previous week and as recently as a couple of days ago he spend half the night laying with her outside the tent, looking at the stars and telling her a few Cherokee legends that he has learnt through the years. To most people that wasn't even a big deal, but to her that has been one hell of improvement and she was hanging onto those moments.

Now it was this, that moment, and even though they were not quite where they were before Rick's death, they were getting there.

"Turn around." He said, bringing her out of her thoughts and into reality as he slid out of her.

Swallowing on dry and missing the warmness of his body already, Rosita did as he wanted her to and turned, settling firmly on her hands and knees as his own hand came to rest on her shoulder; then he dragged it slowly down her spine until it came to stop on her lower back. That right there made her tremble and as he did that, she upturned her ass on his direction and bit down a sly smile.

"I like seeing you like this." He mumbled darkly, and even when she couldn't see him she felt how he grabbed his cock into his fist and touched her with it. First dragging it along her ass and even slapping her flesh a little with it. When he started to rub it against her slick entrance she brazed herself for what was coming.

"It's all yours so you can do more than just look at it." She said while wriggling her ass for him and as he hissed his approval, he pushed back into her sex.

Gasping brokenly, she arched her back and closed her eyes. She has been waiting for it, she even wanted it, but truth was that the feeling of him driving in prompted her to grab hard into the blankets as a way to steady herself.

Not that she minded, and after all as if sensing her struggle he grabbed her hips to steady her and started to slam into her. He went at it for a while, the sound of flesh against flesh and his labored breaths like music to her ears.

From that angle, the friction was unbelievable and she was glad that he has secured the camp against walkers roaming in because otherwise she would be drawing them in with her moans. But it was that it felt just too intense, then when he reached for her hair and grabbed it in one hand while the other pressed against her stomach, she pushed hard back against him and that was it for her.

It felt as if he just stabbed her core in the most delicious way and even her vision blurred out.

"Fuck." Throwing her head back, she panted as her release hit her. It happened fast and hard, and at the sensation she just had to close her eyes tight shut and leave her mouth open so that she could breathe through it. And all the while Daryl kept rocking his hips against her, slamming so hard that she was sure his cock was going to come out through her throat.

It didn't, obviously, but it was reaching so deep within her that she was sure she was going to ache afterwards. Not in a bad way, but she was definitely going to feel it in the morning.

"You like it?" He asked, moving his hands to her ass and squeezing her. He even spread her even more to take a good look at what he was doing.

"Yes." She cried out and to show him, she began to move against him, pushing hard into him as he slammed back. But before she could enjoy more of that, he pulled out of her and before she could protest the void he left in her she felt the warm essence of his cum being poured to her lower back.

"Shit." He moaned and cussed under his breath, and apparently once he spilled all he had he leaned into her and kissed the back of her neck.

Shivering at the contact and lowering her head so that he could have more room to do that again, she licked her lips. But then he moved his mouth even lower, his tongue darting out so it could taste her skin and she arched against him, her back molding to him.

With what just happened, she was still feeling her heart beating hard into her chest and adding to that what he was doing with his lips and how her body was absorbing the heat of his chest pressing to her and she just had to let a low moan escape her lips.

"Mmm. Keep that up and you'll have to go for round number two." She said, lowering herself so that she could lay flat on her stomach. She still felt her whole body vibrating and she needed a few seconds to collect herself.

"You up for it?" He asked and smiling at the amusement in his voice, she shook her head no.

"Nah, can't even feel my legs right now." Snorting and feeling how he started to wipe her clean, she sighed, and when he lay down to her side she turned over so that she could look at him.

He was on his side, his hand holding his head up as he reciprocated the way she was looking at him. That right there was one of the things that she liked the most, just looking at him and observing every gesture and how the sparkle on his eyes would change depending on his mood.

"You going out tomorrow?" He asked almost in a whisper and she nodded.

She has taken the habit of going to Hilltop once or maybe two times a week and it was time for her to do it. She was running low on a couple of things and besides, as much as she liked the improvement Daryl has been showing in the past few weeks, she understood that he also needed his space. She did too and because she wasn't so keen in becoming a full hermit like him, she went out and about every now and then.

Lowering his eyes and sucking his lips into his mouth, he shrugged. "I was thinking about going to Alexandria. Maybe we can tag along? We'll save gas that why, it's becoming a pain finding some."

Letting her eyes scan his face, she smiled. In the almost two months they had been out there, it was the first time he expressed any kind of desire of going back. Sure, he has gone with her to Hilltop once but she knew he has done that just to humor her. And Alexandria… that was big. First it has been the awkward implication that it wouldn't be a big deal if she got pregnant and now this.

But because she didn't want to make a fuss about it, she played it cool. Last thing she wanted was for him to change his mind after something she could say about the whole thing.

"You know, I don't think Carol would mind giving you one of The Kingdom's horses. That would save gas." And really, she has talked to the woman no more than two weeks ago when she showed up at camp looking for Daryl and she was sure she would do anything to make the man's life easier.

Now, back to that day she remembered being taken aback over the fact that she knew where to find them, after all for the longest time she has been so sure those two were somehow involved and yeah, she felt a little territorial with her presence, but after their talk it was clear that Carol and Daryl indeed had something going on, only that it wasn't romantic but more like a siblings bond and much like her, the other woman has been worried about Daryl.

She never told him about the visit, but not because she wanted to hide it; she didn't say because Carol asked her not to.

"Tsk, I ain't riding no horse. Last time I did the son of a bitch threw me off a cliff and I ended up banged up and stabbed with one of my own arrows." He complained and as he did so she snorted at how his southern drawl became even more pronounced.

That was something she has come to enjoy too, listening to him talk ."Really?"

"Yup." As if to prove his point, he moved his fingers to his side and showed her a scar right under his ribcage. "I got shot too because of the damn horse, right in the head."

Blinking a couple of times and using the tip of her fingers to touch the scar, she arched an eyebrow. She has been shot and it has been a bitch, so she couldn't imagine being shot in the head. "Are you serious?"

"I am. It was one of them girls from the beginning. I was so fucked up she shot me thinking I was a walker. Lucky for me she couldn't shoot for shit or she would have blown my brains out. She just grazed me." Taking her hand in his, he brought it to his head and pressed it to the spot.

Rosita used her fingers to feel around his scalp and found it. It was barely perceptible but it was there.

"Alright, no mean horses for you."

Snorting at her tone, he threw his arm over her shoulder to pull her closer. "So are we going? I want to get something first early in the morning, you know, to bring over but we can leave when I get back."

"Yeah, we'll go." She replied snuggling to him and closing her eyes. "I need lye, there's someone in there who makes some so…" And Siddiq was there too and even though Daryl said it wouldn't be so bad if she got pregnant, the truth was that she needed some sort of birth control.

"Lye, you making bombs or something?"

Pressing her lips to the underside of his jaw, she smiled. "No, I'm making soap." Yeah, since living in the woods she has needed to find something to entertain herself and she has been making all kinds of stuff. The soap thing has turned out to be not only entertaining but useful too.

"So soap, uh… is there something you can't do, Rosita?" Circling her waist with his arm, he buried his nose to her hair.

"Well I can't make lye and I can't knit for shit. I can stitch you up and patch your clothes but that knitting business beats my ass."

Humming, Daryl said no more and doing something he has never done before, he fell asleep first than her.

Rosita followed him soon after, and when she woke up he was already gone.

Now, his absence didn't surprise her at all, after all there hasn't been a single day where she would wake up before him and after all, he did say that he was going out early before going with her to Alexandria. So with the intention of being ready by the time he would be back, she got out of the tent and did her business.

Once her morning's rituals were done and she was cleaned up and dressed, she sat down and began braiding her hair, her mind a million miles away as she alternated between finishing her hair and taking small bites out of a bread that was beginning to be too hard for her taste.

Making a mental note to bring back fresh bread if there was some to be had, Rosita's mind kept wandering. She was thinking about everything at once, from what would happen in Alexandria and with Michonne once they got there to what would her reaction be upon seeing them. And would Daryl tell her what he has shown and told her?

Back to the first day they left The Hilltop to take residence into the woods, Daryl took her to the bridge and showed her something he would obsess over later on. It was near to where Rick has been when blowing up the bridge, a spot near the river where there has been a pool of blood Daryl has been sure to be Rick's. That on its own didn't mean much, but if you took in consideration that no body was found and the only tracks around didn't seem to be his, things did came off as odd.

But as much as Daryl tracked and speculated, no clear answer was found. Rick didn't even showed up as a walker and she didn't think that was something he should tell Michonne. It was enough with Daryl being out there looking for answers he may never find, nobody needed the other woman to join him in that quest.

It was while being absorbed into her own thoughts that she heard it, a small crack somewhere into the foliage that quickly put all her senses on alert. So getting up to her feet, her hand automatically reached for her hunting knife and she realized that she didn't have it with her. That was her second mistake, the first being too distracted.

Scanning her surrounding, she saw the knife, but before she could quickly grab for it, an arm was wrapped around her neck and she was yanked away from it.

Gasping in surprise and using her elbow to hit at the solid mass that was pressing against her back, she tried to think fast. It definitely wasn't a walker, first because the walking dead would have been biting into her and second because this one has moved silent as a shadow, she has barely heard it before it was upon her.

It didn't even bulge when she hit it.

"Well look what we have here."

Clenching her jaw as a man, a different one than the one holding her came upon her line of vision, Rosita tilted her head defiantly. She knew this one, maybe not by name but she has seen him many times before, first at The Sanctuary and then at the bridge before everything went to hell. "What the fuck do you want?"

The words were almost spat and the Savior just smiled. "Why, just everything that you have, honey."

Closing her hands into fists, she shook her head. "There's nothing here."

Snickering, the man started to rummage through their things and putting whatever he wanted into a bag. It didn't take much time as he was more interested in their guns and knifes. Once he was done he walked to her and scanned her over. He did it blatantly and licking his teeth, thing that Rosita didn't liked like at all.

"Lay her down." He instructed the man behind her and before the command could be done she used her feet to get some impulse and she used the momentum to kick him hard on the stomach. With the impact he stumbled backwards and doubled over, and as she tried to get free he straightened up and got into her face.

"Stupid bitch!" And without further ado he slapped her hard enough to make her face jerk to the side.

It stung and she was sure that she could taste a bit of blood in her mouth, but because she apparently had more guts than sense she faced him and this time used her hands to reach for him. She only managed to hit his jaw before she was being pulled away.

"Come on man, you know who's woman this is?" The one from behind said as she kept struggling to break away from his hold. It was impossible though.

Touching his jaw and snickering again, the one that hit her reached for his belt buckle to get it undone. "Yeah I know, and that's going to make this so much sweeter. This little bitch always looked at us as if we were beneath her while fucking Dixon gave us scraps. Now I'll show her a thing or two, I'll show them both." As he said that, he reached for her face and pinched her lips between his fingers.

"Touch me again and I swear I'll fucking kill you." Rosita hissed while moving her face from his touch, venom dripping from her voice.

"Uhhh, listen to that, a little feisty aren't we. I like them feisty, the feisty ones don't cry and you are not going to, right mamacita?" As he said that the sound of his zipper echoed all around her and she tried to find a way out of this one.

There didn't seem to be any and even if she would rather die than to admit it, she began to panic at the thought of what they wanted to do to her. Not that she was going to let them know, hell no.

"Screw you, asshole." She said in false bravado and using her last resort, she repeated the same maneuver she did before but this time with both feet and using to her advantage the solid frame of the man behind her. That was how she connected her boots hard into his stomach. The only difference was that by lifting both her legs she lost her support and when the man behind her let go of her, she ended up falling hard on her back.

Upon impact, what she assumed was a rock tore the flesh of her hip and she yelped, her back arching and a sharp pain taking hold of her. She also hit her head pretty hard as it slammed and bounced and she had to close her eyes tight shut. She has dizzy and a nauseous.

What happened next happened quick, her arms were held above her head and she felt someone trying to take off her pants. Luckily, her own belt was securing them in place and just as she heard one of the Saviors asking for a knife to cut them off, the faint sound of a dog barking was heard over.

Opening her eyes and moving her head to the side and towards the sound of the dog, she could only see the knees of one of the man blocking her view and she tried to force her legs to kick the attacker away, but it was in vain and just as the pressure holding her arms let go, everything went black and she passed out…

A/N: Yeah I know, sorry!


	8. Chapter 8

The first thought to cross her mind when she came back to her senses was that her head was pounding. It was really bad, the pain strong enough to make her wince and she was sure that the reason she was hurting so much was because her brain had swollen and her skull wasn't providing the space it needed to grow. But what was her brain if not insistent? It needed the space so it beat unmercifully against the reduced space, menacing to crack her head open and spill all over.

For a wild moment of blind irrationality she really feared for her brain, so wanting to act before it was too late she tried to place both hands over her head; the only problem was that as soon as she began to lift her arms she felt something or someone grab them and pin them above her head.

Confused, she blinked her eyes open, her warm dark orbs finding her vision to be fuzzy and unfocused. The motion also sent a new bolt of pain right into her skull and she had to close her eyes again, waiting until the pain started to fade away into a dull throb.

But that dull throb was still bad, it felt as if there was someone behind her using her head as a personal tambourine, beating in a slow but steady pace…

"Leave it man. I have a bad feeling about this."

At the sound of the unfamiliar voice, Rosita's head jerked up. There was pain in the motion but it was secondary to recognition, as she all of a sudden remembered where she was and under what predicament.

Forcing her eyes open and groaning at the discomfort that provoked, she tried to jerk her arms free, but the iron grip wasn't giving in. Her legs were not being held though, because as she was now seeing and feeling, the other man was busy with other things. He had already managed to take off her belt, he has also unbuttoned and unzipped her pants and was by then trying to slide them down her hips.

It burned her skin as the fabric brushed against a cut she had there and adding that to the way her head was beating she hissed.

Trying to will her mind into reacting accordingly, she came to the conclusion that she hasn't been out for too long, thing that she wasn't sure if it was good or bad. It would have to be good, because that way she could fight it. So with that in mind and trying to use her lower limbs to her advantage, she began to repel the assault. "Get off." But kicking didn't do much to help, because as much as she tried to, her movements were too slow and lacking strength and well, as much as she prided herself in being tough, in her state she was no match against two men with a purpose.

It was frustrating, it was humiliating and she has never felt so powerless in her life. The closest thing she has ever felt similar to that moment was the night Negan killed Abraham and Glen, and she damn well knew how that moment has been the catalyst of her downward spiral.

"We are not leaving until we get a piece of-"

Before the sentence could be finished, the Savior holding her hands fell to the side without making a sound that she heard of and the other one hurried to grab her shoulders to pull her up. In her daze Rosita wasn't sure how he did it so quickly but when she found herself on her knees, with her back pressed to him and a knife to her throat, she saw it.

It took her a few seconds to focus, but when she managed she saw that the man who has been holding her was dead, an arrow sticking through the back of his head. Then before she could fully register in her mind what happened, she was dragged to her feet so she could stand along her captor, one arm holding her to him.

"Drop it or I kill her. Don't try to play hero here, not today pal."

Squinting her eyes, Rosita swallowed on dry as she felt the edge of the blade against her skin, and as that happened her vision took in the form of a silhouette standing into the foliage. She hadn't seen him until now and in her still blurry mind she assumed that she missed him because he has been standing in the shadows; but he was now creeping on them, his face a dark mask hidden behind his crossbow as he came steadily closer.

"That's near enough." As the words were almost yelled to her ear, the edge of the blade was pushed a little more against her skin, not enough to draw blood but she felt it all right and probably as he saw her wince, Daryl halted. "

He didn't say anything though and as he stood a few feet from them Rosita saw that only half his face was somehow visible, the feral glint of his blazing eyes focused entirely on the man behind her. Now, from her vantage point she could read his intentions even if she wasn't in her full capacity of thinking straight, and she could see how he was trying to decide if he could take the shot before the blade could slice her throat.

As he mused about the possibilities Rosita just waited, she trusted Daryl with her life and she was sure that he wouldn't do anything that would harm her in any way and she hoped he would be able to do it, to end it. But then, apparently deciding that it was too risky he lowered the crossbow.

"You sure you wanna do this?" He said at last, his eyes shifting towards her for a second before returning to the man.

"Shut the fuck up. I'm not here to talk to you, we got plenty of time to talk at The Sanctuary and if we didn't then we're not going to start now."

"Listen…" Rosita began to say but before she could finish, the knife was turned so that the point of it could press to the underside of her jaw. At the feeling of it almost digging into her skin she clenched her fist and snarled.

"Hush, you and I will settle our business later. As for Dixon… how about you slide the crossbow over. I'm taking it along with your woman and you're just going to watch me do it."

Chewing on his lips but refusing to lower the intensity of his stare, Daryl slid the crossbow their way… a little too hard so that it reached the man's boots and the second it touched him, he loosened his grip on the knife and on her.

Now, earlier that night, Rosita made a couple of mistakes that lead her to be in that situation, but now it was the man's turn to make a mistake of his own and when he started to bend down a little to grab Daryl's weapon of choice, she took the opportunity to try to wrestle the knife out of his hand.

Yeah, she grabbed it wrong and cut herself in the process, but because he hadn't been expecting her to do that, she caught him off guard and distracted him long enough to open the window for them to get advantage over the situation; that was how before the man realized it, Daryl was on him. He moved fast and as blood started to pour out of her hand, she was released off his clutch.

Sucking in a breath as she fell in a heap to the ground as soon as she was let go, Rosita automatically closed her injured hand and pressing the fist to her chest, she tried to think fast. It was hard though because all her movements were muddled, she couldn't get back to her feet and the more she tried the harder her limbs would tremble and the worse her head would throb.

She could only sit where she fell, as if all her efforts died when she grabbed the knife and now she didn't have the strength for anything else. All she did was watch as if in a dream as Daryl and the other man fought, first standing and then wrestling on the dirt as Daryl tackled him to gain the upper hand. As she saw it, all was going good until the Savior reached for his throat and started squeezing.

Not that it made too much of a difference because with every blow to his face, the grip became weaker and weaker. The dog was at it too, growling and biting on his shoulder. Rosita hadn't even seen the dog and it was only now that she barely recalled hearing it bark before blacking out.

"Wait-" Her attacker began to say as his hands finally gave up.

Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt so he could lift him off the ground, Daryl cut him off midsentence. "What, you wanna chat now, you dipshit?" His voice loud and as it always happened when he was riled up, with his southern drawl extremely marked echoed all around her.

"I wasn't-" The Savior began to say, the desperation of his voice almost palpable after Daryl made a bloody mess out of his face. "I wasn't… doing anything to her."

Landing yet another punch to his face, Daryl spat. "Sure don't look that way to me cuz she looks damn banged up. And what you wanted to do… how about I cut your dick off and make you eat it, uh?"

"No, just wait, pal..." He replied, making a sound that came off between a croak and a yelp.

"Nah, I ain't waiting shit."

And that was it, reaching for the hunting knife he always had on him, Daryl ended it.

Slumping and closing her eyes, Rosita breathed out. "I meant to do that…" And she did, she had wanted to kill that man. True, killing people wasn't something she enjoyed, it was something she sometimes had to do. It was how the world was now, but this one… this one she has wanted to kill.

"Hey, you okay?" She could feel his hands on her face; they were touching her everywhere, from her cheeks to her bloodied lip and her throat and she nodded for lack of anything to say, but when his fingers moved to the back of her head she just had to suck in a breath. "Rosita…"

"My hand… I cut myself and, um I think…"

Opening her eyes and trying to check the back of her hip, she saw that she was bleeding from there too. Apparently she cut herself when she fell as well. It was also then that she noticed that her pants were still riding too low, not enough to expose her privates as has been the obvious intention, but low enough to bother her.

"Let me see." Daryl hissed almost angrily, taking her hand and wrapping it with the handkerchief he always carried in his back pocket. It got soaked in an instant with her blood so he went ahead and ripped part of his shirt to put another layer of fabric over the injury; then he applied pressure with his own hand until the flow of blood stopped.

That right there made her flinch because it hurt, but still all that was happening she watched as if in a trance, her eyes fixed and her lips partially parted so she could breath through her mouth. "I didn't see them coming… I didn't…"

Pulling her closer, Daryl mumbled something along the lines that it was okay and when he grabbed her chin to make her look at him instead, she just stared. His own eyes were digging deep into hers and when he asked if they hit her head she said that she didn't know. She wasn't sure why she said it, she wasn't sure of anything.

It was funny in a weird kind of way because it felt as if she was on auto-pilot instead of in full control of what was going on.

"Son of a bitch." He cursed through clenched teeth while lifting her up to her feet. With the sudden movement she had to hold onto him not to loose her balance and she once again had to close her eyes. She was glad she did, especially when he pulled her pants in place and buttoned them back. Once that was done he checked the other cut and told her it wasn't that deep. By then, the throb in her head was slowly subsiding, but her mind was still fogged and her movements kind of wobbly. "Come on."

Instead of making her walk he lifted her up in his arms and carried her away, he did that effortlessly while advancing through the woods and as he moved she was barely aware that he was talking. His voice was muffled to her but she did catch the part where he talked about taking her to the Hilltop since it was the closest community with a doctor and she didn't protest his logic, after all she was sure that she was going to need stitches and probably some aspirin for the headache.

It was only when they were by his bike that he urged her to pay attention to what he was saying.

"Rosita, I need you here with me, can you do that?"

Nodding when he grabbed her face in his hands and made her look at him again, Rosita mumbled. "Uh hum."

"We gonna go on my bike and I need you to hold on tight. Very tight, Okay?"

"Yeah…" She could, and luckily she did.

Sure, with the sun in her face she had no other choice than to make the ride resting her eyes and at times she would kind of doze off momentarily only to wake up startled, tightening her hold while pressing her face to his back; but she did it without letting go of him and by the time they made it to Hilltop her mind was clearer even thought the dull throb was still present.

That was without mentioning the cuts, because they both stung like a bitch, especially the one in the palm of her hand.

"What the hell happened?" Jesus received them as soon as they entered the gate and as Daryl helped Rosita off the bike, the other man tried to reach for her. He was already throwing her arm over his shoulder to help her move when Daryl stepped in.

"No. I got her." With that said he swept her off into his arms once again and headed into the medical trailer.

Once in there, Enid rushed in and before she could unwrap her hand to check it, Daryl was telling the young woman what to do. "Check her head. She's kinda out of it."

"I'm okay." Rosita said as Enid checked her pupils. And she did feel better, at least the fuzziness reigning in her head was clearing off and she was more alert. What she needed was to rest, painkillers for her headache and Enid to patch her up.

"No you ain't. Could barely stand back there."

Moving her eyes to him and chewing compulsively on the tender spot of the corner of her lips where she has been hit, Rosita said nothing. She just took a moment to really look at him, noticing for the first time his appearances. He was covered in blood, most probably hers, his shirt was ripped and the wild look on his eyes spoke volumes. She probably didn't look any better so she could only imagine the image the two of them were portraying.

"Alright, so why don't you guys start telling me what happened?"

Keeping it simple because she didn't believe the details were relevant, Rosita just talked about how she fell and hit her head. The cut in her hand didn't need much explaining so she didn't give any, and as Enid listened while she started cleaning and patching her wounds, she could see Daryl and Jesus talking in hushed voices near the door.

She let it pass, and once Enid said she most likely than not suffered a concussion that even though needed to be monitored wasn't that grave, she was given something for the pain before she was allowed to leave. By then Tara was there too and guided her back into her old room.

"You gonna be good here?" Daryl asked once she was scrubbed clean and settled and because the painkillers were already starting to kick in, she just nodded and went to bed. She was going to assume he was heading out to do God knows what because otherwise he wouldn't be asking that, but because once she told him she was going to be okay he kissed her lips and told her to get some rest, she did.

She was in no shape to do otherwise and what could she do anyway? Daryl was always going to do whatever it was that he wanted to do. Worrying about it or trying to reason with him was no good, and as long as he made it back to her what did it matter? Besides what else was there to do? The men who attacked her were dead and she doubted he would be reckless enough to go and burn down the entire Sanctuary for the actions of two.

Jesus wouldn't let him do that so she was just going to let it be.

Now after he left everything that happened next happened in a blur. Medication knocked her out and she wasn't even sure for how long; she just knew that in more than one occasion she woke up to Enid checking on her and she even vaguely recalled a couple of trips to the bathroom, Tara bringing her something to eat that she just nibbled before falling asleep again and some discussion about putting an IV on her so she wouldn't get dehydrated.

It was a repeating circle thanks to whatever Enid was giving her and it wasn't until she woke up to the sight of the sun setting through the window and Daryl sleeping on a chair near the bed that she decided that it was enough. She has gotten plenty of rest as it was as she was sure she has been sleeping since forever.

"Daryl." Sitting up, she hissed his name while taking off the IV and because he was such a light sleeper he woke up at once. For a second he looked disoriented but when he lay his eyes on her, he blinked the confusion away and ran a hand down his face.

"Hey."

"How long was I out?" Her throat was dry so she dank from a glass of water that has been on the bedside table, but at least her headache was nothing but a faint memory of what went down back at camp and her hand felt numb instead of sore.

"Since yesterday. You feeling better?"

Quirking her lips, she lifted her right arm and shrugged. "My hand feels funny and I'm starving, other than that I think I'm good." Sure she still felt a little sluggish but she was sure that it was because of whatever Enid put on her IV.

"I'll get you something."

With that said, he walked out and Rosita used the moment to go into the bathroom. With so much sleeping she needed to refresh and putting her limbs to work would help her get out of her daze as well. By the time she was done Daryl was back in the room, sitting in the same chair he has been earlier on but definitely looking more comfortable.

He has brought with him some food so taking off her pants so she could be more comfortable as well she climbed back to bed and began to eat. It was a bit uncomfortable since her good hand was the one with the stitches but she managed, and once the sandwich was chewed and swallowed she shared with him an apple. They did that in silence, each one absorbed into their own thoughts.

It took her several minutes to snap back to reality and when she did, she did it by tilting her head to the side so she could look at him. He seemed pensive, maybe even a bit somber and she didn't have to put much effort into guessing what was with him. She knew him well enough to recognize that look on his face but because talking about uncomfortable things wasn't her forte either, she decided to ignore the elephant in the room.

Instead she decided that it was more pleasant to go back in memory lane to try to remember the first time they met. Her mind was still a little fogged but if she wasn't mistaken, it has been at Terminus and well, that surely has been a damn awful experience but it was the first memory she had of him.

As she mused about that, she realized that most of their memories involved some kind of crisis and if she would have been in another mood, thinking about everything they had gone through would have probably make her match the somber look on his face. But that was how it was, even the first time they went together on a run ended going badly. It has been with Denise and even though that day marked the moment she started seeing him with curiosity and maybe even interest, it has ended with the woman dead.

Would it keep going that way for them, from bad to worse? Because what happened the day before has been bad, and it would have ended even worse if he hadn't showed up.

Refusing to believe that things would never turn for them, she shook her head and cleared her throat. She didn't know if Enid has drugged her or if the blow to the head made her have another way of thinking, but she refused to believe that the tragedy of this new world was going to be eternal. There had to be more than that, and if there wasn't they better make the most of what they had.

They have fought too much to let the world keep shoving them face first into the mud and if not giving up meant they had to keep forcing their way to their feet then that was what they were going to do.

"Come here." Giving him room so he could climb to her side and laying down when he was resting besides her, she tried to keep him from any bad memories and focus instead on the good. "Do you remember that old place we found on the road, you know… from when we tried to get Eugene from the Sanctuary?"

With one of his arms underneath the back of his head and his eyes set on the ceiling, the shadow of a smile formed on his lips. It was almost imperceptible but it was there. "You mean where you jumped on me?"

Her own lips twisted into a smile as she rolled her eyes because that has been basically what she did. "Yeah, that was crazy." Even to that day she didn't know what got into her, just that in a moment of madness she went for it, just a second that changed it all. "But if it wasn't because I did that you wouldn't have even looked my way so... "

"That what you think?" His voice was low and she got even closer to him, resting her injured hand on his chest and enjoying the familiar warmth his body would always provide.

"Yes." Before that he never even showed the most remote indication that he was interested so she grabbed the bull by it's horns and hoped for the best. "You didn't even notice me before that and well, I decided to do something about it."

His free hand move to hers, his thumb running circles against her fingers. "I noticed, I mean I ain't blind. Ain't deaf either and you wouldn't believe all I heard about you."

"Huh." She huffed, not sure if she wanted to know what it was that he heard. "Really?"

"You know how men like to talk their talk to whoever listens and there were a lot of them guys that noticed and they talked about it. Hell, before you two split even your own man liked to run his mouth around, boasting you like you were some damn trophy. You'd be surprised how much he liked that other men wanted you."

"Trust me, nothing you can say about Abraham can surprise me." And yes, that was the truth. She has cared and even fell for the man, but after some time she had to admit that to him she was just a resource, one that would warm his bed whenever he had the need. There was that and there was also the fact that he was an asshole who even enjoyed that Eugene liked spying on them having sex. But she wasn't going to dwell in the past and start remembering his many defects so she focused on what really interested her now, Daryl. "But how about you, did you ever participated in those macho talks? Hmm."

"Nah, that shit ain't for me. I just listened and watched."

"So you did watch me? Now that is interesting."

"I guess I did. I mean you and I did some shit together back then, doing runs and all that so yeah. You just can't look the way you do without people watching you, Rosita. And then you had this way of looking my way that made me wonder sometimes."

Snorting because she hadn't know she has a special way of looking at him, she used her other hand to slide it down his chest. "Well you don't look bad yourself so maybe I checked you out once or twice…. Maybe more since the Apothecary."

"Yeah..." He blew out a breath as if he didn't believed it, then he went on. "But you know, everything was so fucked up back then that the last thing on my mind was hooking up. I was going through some shit… you were going through some shit and everything was just… fucked."

Turning her hand against his so that she could look at the stitches, she bit her lips. That thing he said right there about watching her made her smile because she has been watching him too, but never with the intention of pursuing anything because he was right in one thing. "It was fucked up…" At least she has been.

"Everything is still fucked, you know, and if it ain't I go ahead and screw it up. Just look at what went on yesterday. Ro, if anything would've happened to you that was going to be on me."

And there it was, guilt showing its ugly paws to make him prisoner of yet another thing. It has been good getting him to talk about other things other than what happened but now it was time so lifting her face and guiding his head towards her, she began to talk. "Daryl, what happened was not your fault."

"It wouldn't have happened if I would have been with you, or if I hadn't dragged you along out there."

"Yeah and maybe if you would have been there we would both be dead, what do we know? What I do know is that what happened out there happened because I wasn't paying attention. I didn't even had my knife close by and that was what fucked things up for me. The way I see it, it didn't happen because you got there on time so don't beat yourself about it."

He didn't say anything so she went on.

"I got distracted, it won't happen again." No, she had to be more alert and ready, always. That was something she could never allow to happen once more.

"Damn right about that, it ain't happening cuz you won't be going out there no more."

Blinking a couple of times as the weight of what he was saying dropped on her, Rosita puffed out a breath. "What?" It was the only thing she could say as all of a sudden she felt her chest constrict and her stomach tighten. She could even begin to feel her headache coming back with a vengeance if she wasn't careful.

But it was just that they had gone through this already and now after everything they had gone through he wanted to leave her behind…

"I think I was clear enough when I told you that I wasn't going to let you push me aside."

Looking at her face, he bit on his lips. "I ain't going back either."

He let that sink in, but because she didn't want to get ahead of herself she just kept looking at him.

"We can stay here, or Alexandria if you want to. Just anywhere where I can put a roof over your head."

"What about Rick?" She knew he was set on finding something, anything that could indicate what happened back at the bridge and as of yet, nothing. She didn't mind being out there with him if that was what he wanted to do… well she didn't mind it that much.

"That went cold long ago and I've been just chasing my own tail. I don't want to keep doing that, I don't want to hold on to something that ain't there while loosing my grip on what I do have. Rick ain't here, you are and I don't want to keep screwing up."

Instead of replying with words, she climbed on top of him and embraced him. His arms automatically came around her and as she hid her face into the crook of his neck, he kissed her shoulder.

"And after all of this time you keep jumping on me."

Chuckling and accommodating her right hand so it wouldn't get hurt, Rosita shrugged and said something similar to what he said to her earlier on. "You can't just look the way you do without me wanting to be all over you."

She felt him snort by the way his chest rose and then fell beneath her. "Shut up."

For a while she did shut up and just remained where she was, breathing into his scent as his hands sneaked underneath her shirt so they could roam her skin, his fingers running up her spine and then back down. He repeated the motion without touching the spot where she had the cut.

"You know staying here won't guarantee that everything will be okay, right? This world is dying and it wants us down with it. The walkers are and will always be upon us and if it's not them then there's people. All this has taken out the worst of everyone so things like what happened yesterday will keep on going."

"Yeah I know. That don't mean we have to just wait out there to die or whatever. We can make something here instead."

Lifting her head so she could look into his eyes, she smiled. "Yes, we can."

His hand went to her face and guided it down, and when she was close enough he pressed his mouth to hers. He didn't push it farther than that and just lingered, and when he finally parted away she dragged her lips to the corner of his and kissed him there. Then she moved back so that their lips could brush lightly and as if he has been waiting for her to do that, he moved his thumb to her jaw and pulled it down, creating a gap so that he could deepen the kiss.

Sighing at the way his tongue melted against her own, Rosita kissed him back. It was just that no matter how many times they would that, he was always capable of clouding her judgement so she could only focus on what he made her feel instead. And yeah, one could argue that they were just kissing, but the hand that remained on her back was now down to where her skin met the fabric of her panties and the way his fingers would tease going further was enough for her to tremble against him.

There was no thought of what happened earlier the day before and there was no pain, there was only him.

Rotating her hips so that her groin could grind against his own arousal, she felt both his hands move to the same spot. They went right to her ass cheeks and once there he grabbed her, his hands full as he pulled her even more into him. The movement made her hum against him, and when a lone finger slid down the crotch of her underwear to probe her wetness, she moaned.

But just as she was starting to really get in the mood, he pulled from the kiss and patted her ass playfully. "Come on, doctor said you need rest."

Parting her mouth while her tongue pressed to the corner of her lips, Rosita blinked slowly. "You are not going to leave me hanging here, Daryl. No way."

"Don't wanna hurt your hand or your head." Keeping one of his hands into her panties, he used one of his fingers to run down her slit. He did it lightly, and not even as she spread her legs a bit more did he went further.

She wanted him to get further and judging by how his erection pushed insistently against her, she was going to guess he wanted it too.

"You won't hurt me." With that said, she kissed him.

She kissed him until she was breathless and until his hands ran along every inch of her skin; she kissed him as they undressed and when he finally slid into her and they started to move with a sweet urgency as one, she was kissing him too..

She came undone first, as it almost always happened and as his time was close, he told her that he was pulling out.

"No." She said in a breath against his mouth. She was still on top of him and even though careful, his rhythm had picked up and she could sense how close he was. "I want you to cum in me, I want to feel it."

Yes, that was something she liked a little too much. Abraham would double up on protection when he was with her even though she was on the pill and she sure as hell didn't let Spencer cum in her during their one night stand, but with Daryl she has been doing it since that first time and it was something she always looked forward to.

The warmness of it, the knowledge that it was something so his only for her and how in some way the essence of him inside of her marked her as his. And in that moment, it meant something even more special. It could be the medication clouding her judgement but it was what it was.

"You sure?" He asked because a couple of nights ago she has been crystal clear about not wanting him to do that, at leastnot around those dates. But she was sure now and even if she wouldn't have been it was too late, because before she could reply he sucked in a breath and then moaned, his face flushing and his mouth searching for hers.

Closing her eyes and receiving into her body all he had to give, she smiled. It was as he said the other night, if it happened then it happened, meanwhile she was going to enjoy all of it, with him.

~Fin~


End file.
